The People Under the Stairs Movie Information

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Movie Information

Overall Rank: 5786

Average Rating: 2.6/4

# of Ratings: 121

Theatrical Release Date: 11/01/1991

Language: English

Genre: Horror, Comedy

MPAA Rating: R

Director: Wes Craven

Actors: Brandon Quintin Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A.J. Langer, Ving Rhames, Sean Whalen

Plot: On his 13th birthday, a boy helps his sister's boyfriend attempt to rob the house of the greedy local landlord. Getting inside is the easy part, escaping is another matter entirely. -- Chris Kavan

Indyfreak - wrote on 10/30/2023

Utterly nutty horror-comedy that even throws in a bit of social commentary with its lunacy. It almost plays like a version of 'Home Alone' but if it was written by Stephen King.

Ian - wrote on 09/28/2015

A sort of Home Alone rip-off, with a kidnapping plot thrown in. The trailer made this movie out to be some kind of terrifying cannibal fest with horrible mutilations as hands reach through the walls to rip people apart. That and the name itself with the tag line, "They will cross the street, do anything to avoid the house with.. the people under the stairs..." The director should have dispensed with the light-hearted comedy feel and the plucky young children heroes and made it a dark and gristly *horror* film about cannibals living under the stairs.

Monnie1976 - wrote on 08/29/2013

Wes Craven doesn't get near enough appreciation for this twisted, scary and humorous little film. With great acting performances from the lead kids and plenty of pleasant over the top antics from the lead villains the movie is both entertaining and delivers plenty of suspense. I saw this recently and was pleasantly surprised how well this held up.

Yojimbo
Movie God

"The People Under The Stairs" by Yojimbo

Yojimbo - wrote on 01/09/2012

A young boy from the ghetto is trapped inside the house of a pair of ruthless cannibalistic slumlords who keep a group of kidnapped children in their basement. This is Wes Craven's attempt to jump on the ghetto bandwagon with this horror comedy that plays out like The Addams Family crossed with Home Alone. There's some attempt at social commentary hidden in here somewhere, as a gang of subjugated whiter-than-white people are kept helpless and voiceless under the control of the capitalist elite who drain all the money from a black neighbourhood, but the Scooby Doo script just has a group of kids running around dark corridors in a spooky mansion looking for buried treasure. The likeable cast do their best with what they have to work with but there's no plot, no context and little in the …