The People Under the Stairs
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| The People Under the Stairs | |
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 The People Under the Stairs poster |
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| Directed by | Wes Craven |
| Produced by | Shep Gordon Wes Craven Marianne Maddalena Stuart M. Besser |
| Written by | Wes Craven |
| Starring | Brandon Adams Everett McGill Wendy Robie A. J. Langer Ving Rhames Sean Whalen |
| Music by | Don Peake |
| Cinematography | Sandi Sissel |
| Editing by | James Coblentz |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 1, 1991 |
| Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $24,204,154 |
| Followed by | The People Under the Stairs 2 (2008) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The People Under the Stairs is a 1991 horror film, directed by Wes Craven and starring Brandon Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A. J. Langer, Ving Rhames and Sean Whalen.
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[edit] Plot summary
The People Under the Stairs, is the story of a young boy named Poindexter (Brandon Adams), whom everyone calls "Fool," who lives in the ghetto of a large city. At the start of the movie, Fool learns that he and his family have been evicted from their apartment; their cruel landlords, the Robesons (Everett McGill as "Dad" and Wendy Robie as "Mom"), turned the family out for being three days late on the rent. Fool's older sister, Ruby (Kelly Jo Minter), is dating a street thug named Leroy (Ving Rhames), who offers to help Fool take care of his family by planning a joint burglary of the Robesons' residence, rumored to contain a wealth of gold coins.
Fool agrees to join Leroy and his accomplice Spencer (Jeremy Roberts). He also starts hearing disturbing rumors about his former landlords. Grandfather Booker (Bill Cobbs) tells Fool that the Robesons' house used to be a funeral home, and adds that the Robeson family have been incestuously procreating for many years, becoming increasingly insane with each generation.
Eventually, the three boys decide that the best time for their burglary has arrived. Spencer goes in first, posing as a municipal worker, intending to scout the house out - but he never comes back out. After waiting for Spencer for some time, Fool and Leroy decide to go in after him (after they muster up enough courage) and break into the house together. Once inside, they are astonished at the interior: it is a mixture of inexplicably extreme security, old-fashioned décor, and sinister morbidity. The pair is pursued by a vicious dog and Fool ends up in the house's basement. Fool discovers the body of Spencer, along with "creatures" corralled along one side like animals. While exploring, the Robesons return home, catching the intruders in the act. They shoot and kill Leroy and then begin dancing around his body while Fool hides and watches in terror.
While searching for an exit, Fool meets a young girl named Alice (A.J. Langer), who is the embodiment of innocence and purity. Alice tells Fool that her "parents" (the Robesons) searched for a long time for perfect children. She tells him that the only way to survive in the Robeson's world is to "hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil." The "creatures" Fool saw in the basement are the boys, who the Robesons call the "people under the stairs," who have all had their eyes put out, their ears cut off, or their tongues torn out as punishment for breaking one of these rules and are subsequently locked away forever in the sunless basement, fed on scraps of human flesh thrown at them by "Dad." One of these boys, a mute named Roach (Sean Whalen) previously managed to find a way out of the basement and has been hiding in the wallspaces of the wall ever since, becoming Alice's only friend. The Robesons refer to him as "the one who crawls between the walls," and occasionally shoot at him with a shotgun.
Alice and Roach help Fool escape through the rafters and wallspaces of the building. Unfortunately, Alice is left behind to be punished for her role in helping Fool escape, and Roach is killed, but not before giving Fool several gold coins. Upon escaping, Fool promptly dials 9-1-1 from a public telephone and reports that child abuse is occurring at the home he has just escaped from. The police soon arrive at the Robesons' and are welcomed by an expert charade put on by the man and woman. Alice is kept hidden and the couple put forth the illusion of old-fashioned, strict, but very normal suburban living, even offering the officers coffee and cookies. The police, satisfied that no abuse is occurring, promptly leave.
Fool, having escaped, returns to the house to save Alice from her miserable existence. Anticipating Fool's return, the couple ambush him, but Fool manages to escape to the attic and frees Alice. A group of zombie-like "People Under the Stairs" manage to break loose from the stairs and attack "Mom," who meets her end by Alice's hands as she stabs her. Fool is promptly met by the shotgun-toting "Dad," who is clad in a full leather BDSM suit. Fool's plan, aided by the man's supply of explosives in the basement, eventually succeeds and he and Alice escape with a dozen children who have been kept under the stairs.
And as for the collective money belonging to the misanthropic people, it is blown out of the house through the chimneys and soon is taken by a massive horde of people who had all been cheated of their money as the People Under the Stairs flee into the night.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Possible remake
In September 2006, director Wes Craven, with his production company Midnight Pictures and Rogue Pictures, announced a remake of The People Under the Stairs, along with The Last House on the Left and Shocker, each with a budget of approximately $15 million. The film's executive producers will be Sean S. Cunningham and Wes Craven. Screenwriters Dakota A. Thomas and Stephanie Flores have signed on (according the IMDB's page for the sequel).[1][2]
[edit] Attractions
- Universal Studios Florida incorporated some of the film's plot as well as the house into a haunted house several times for their annual Halloween Horror Nights event.
- Universal Studios Florida also shows the film playing on the movie screen of the attraction Twister, just before the tornado rips the screen apart.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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