Review of The People Under the Stairs (1991) by Aimee . — 11 Jun 2008

What a blast! Absolutely hysterical in all its absurdity and trashy slapstick splendour, even if it is hideously underrated by dull conventional Horror fans.

Wes Craven brings us a bizzare modernised fairytale much in the vein of Freeway 2. When his sick mother can no longer afford to pay the rent, "Fool" a young headstrong boy takes up an offer by Leroy, a family friend, to rob the house of their landlord, only to unmask the cesspool that lays buried between the walls and under the basement.

The inhibitants are a deranged couple, ironically calling themselves "mom" and "dad" and their timid daughter Alice who has never seen daylight which Craven reportedly based on real cases of child cruelty and imprisonment.

The acting is outrageous, the plot is as far from logical as it could possibly be, characters are stereotyped, the story is riddled with holes and the climax provokes much laughter. And as one dullard pointed out; the few door-to-door salesmen who would have come to the door could not be rendered into sufficient meat to feed the twelve growing children living in the walls of the house.

Is this realistic? NO. Do we care? Most certainly not.

The "mom" character is simply Hall of Crazy worthy - oranged haired wide eyed Wendy Bobie could not be less enthralling if she slept through the film!

As much as I try to rate films seriously, The People Under The Stairs was just far too entertaining to recieve anything less; its flaws can be forgotten.

And the sceptics?

May they burn in hell.

Être fini.