The People Under The Stairs Classic Wes Craven Movie

I've always been a fan of Wes Craven, and come to think of it ‘The people under the stairs' was probably the first film of his that I ever saw. A cross between comedy and horror it's the kind of movie that reminds me of films such as The Goonies but with a much darker twist. The story has a disturbing underlying tone of incest and sadomasochism which although isn't fully explored we are always aware of its presence as viewers and it is often touched upon in places but never fully explored. This in itself is a large part of what makes the film work as we don't NEED to see any of this to understand how completely messed up the main characters are.

Fool (as he is known in his family) is a young kid trying to break into his deranged landlords house to steal their treasure (this must be what reminds me of the goonies I think) in order to pay for his mothers medical treatment and keep a roof over their heads. Along with his sisters girlfriend Leroy (played by Ving Rhames) they manage to break into the house despite it's fortress like appearance. As soon as they get inside they realize something is dreadfully wrong, strange noises come from the walls and all the doors and windows are barred and locked tight. On closer inspection Fool begins to discover that there are people living inside the walls of the house and the darkest depths of the basement, these people are far from normal however; they have been stolen from their families, half starved and mutilated by the owners of the house in their search to find the perfect boy child. There is only one person in the house that Fool knows he can trust and that is a young girl called Alice, she herself has been abused at the hands of her ‘parents' but managed to avoid being thrown into the basement by keeping on their good side and hearing, speaking or seeing no evil. She helps Fool find his way around the secret passes around the house and introduces him to ‘Roach' one of the strongest and smartest people under the stairs. He is the best character in the whole movie in my opinion! Roach is played by Sean Whalen who has since gone in to star in hundreds of successful films and TV shows so chances are that if you see him in this movie you'll instantly recognise his face. The sick relationship between the man and woman who own the house becomes apparent quite early on in the film; they call each other Mummy and Daddy and are infact brother and sister. ‘Daddy' also seems to like to get dressed up in his leather gimp suit to chase off the ‘people under the stairs' and any unwanted visitors. Trust me, it isn't a pretty sight! The film has a classic Wes Crave ‘feel' to it and I love the way that (as often happens in his movies) serious issues are mixed with that slight tinge of humour. The man and woman are both genuinely scary at times and at others completely laughable but that's what gives the movie its edge. Personally I loved it, and although it does look a little bit cheesy these days it still has that raw appeal that makes it stand the test of time and makes me want to watch it again and again. Definitely one for the DVD collection guys!