Wes Craven has crafted a bizarre but still somehow coherent farce.
Poindexter “Fool” Williams and his family are the only remaining residents in an apartment building located in the Los Angeles ghetto. On his thirteenth birthday, Fool discovers that they’re about to get evicted. For being a mere three days late on their rent, the landlord wants three times the usual amount to get their account current or they’re out on the street. Fool doesn’t know what to do. His mother is sick and desperately needs medical attention that they can’t afford.
Small-time crook Leroy (Ving Rhames) tells Fool that the landlord wants to force the family out because he wants to tear the building down to build condominiums. Leroy suggests a way to fight back. In one of his heists, Leroy found a receipt for gold coins with the landlord’s address on it. If Leroy and Fool can break into the landlord’s house and steal the coins, Fool will not only be able to pay their rent but pay his mother’s medical bill as well.
What they don’t realize is that the landlord’s house, a former funeral home, is a sprawling network of booby traps, secret passageways, and terrible secrets. The landlord, who is referred to in the credits as “Man,” isn’t just greedy, he’s a full-blown religious nut-job with a penchant for bondage gear, cannibalism, and child abuse. His spouse, credited as “Woman,” is equally nutty. The fact that they refer to each other as “Mommy” and “Daddy” is the least surprising thing about them.
The People Under the Stairs was written and directed by Wes Craven, the man responsible for A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Last House on the Left, and The Hills Have Eyes, among other classic horror films. Craven has crafted a bizarre but still somehow coherent farce. While it contains elements of horror, it also works as a whacked-out commentary on gentrification, racism, and the Reagan/Bush political era. (But if you choose to overlook these elements — or simply don’t see them — you’ll still be left with a rather fun, if twisted, horror comedy.)
The film features a strong performance from young Brandon Adams. His character, Fool, is anything but. Adams showcases a wide range of physical talent and an excellent sense of comedic timing. As “Man” and “Woman”, Everett McGill and Wendy Robie are gleefully off-the-chain. Supporting performances from A.J. Langer, as Alice, Man and Woman’s daughter, and Sean Whalen, as Roach, add to the variety of oddness on display here.
Visually, The People Under the Stairs looks very much like a product of the early 1990s. Thematically, however, it feels quite fresh and strangely entertaining. Of course, this won’t appeal to everyone but if you’re a horror fan with a twisted sense of humor, this should be right up your alley.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
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