THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS
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It has been said that the circumstances surrounding a
person's life can cause them to do bad things. In the case of young Fool (Brandon Adams)
'bad things' consisted of breaking and entering. When Fool learned that he, his sister and
his dying mother were to be evicted from their inner-city apartment, his friend Leroy
(Ving Rhames of Pulp Fiction) convinced him that the only way to avoid
being tossed out into the streets was to go in seek of a rare coin collection, rumored to
be worth a fortune. Fool decides to go along with Leroy's plan, at that moment seeing no
other way out of his terrible situation. So, wanting so desperately to 'be the man' and
come through for his family, Fool sets out with Leroy and another man, Spenser, in search
of the collection. They pull up at a sprawling home, well-secured with bars over the windows. Fool assumes the role of a Boy Scout selling cookies, but the woman who answers the door doesn't buy it. The three would-be burglars must devise another plan in order to get them into the house to snag the coins. |
| Spenser dons the wardrobe of a meter-reader and gains entry
into the house. Fool and Leroy wait for what seems like an eternity for him to return,
eventually believing that their partner was planning to pull one over on them and keep the
booty for himself. The two see their chance as a long, sleek car backs out of the driveway
and edges away. Once inside, the two are amazed at the elaborate rigging of the security systems, and the fortress atmosphere the house carried. Sliding doors and booby traps seemed to be everywhere, as well as a giant guard dog that was dying for a taste of warm flesh. They're not in the house very long before Fool catches up to Spenser in the basement. His face and hair a ghastly white, the man laid clutching a gold coin in his hand. He wasn't breathing. |
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Soon after Fool's discovery, the sound of a dog barking and
voices at the front door signal to Leroy and Fool that they're no longer alone in the
house. The owners had returned, but worst of all, the owners knew there were robbers
inside. It doesn't take long for the man of the house to catch up with them, and there is
where the real nightmare begins. While Fool crawls desperately through the mysterious winding tunnels behind the walls of the massive mansion, Fool discovers that there are others living in the house, among them a little girl named Alice (A. J. Langer) and a young man called 'Roach'. Alice explained to Fool that Roach had been one of the housemasters sons that hadn't turned out the way they had wanted and was forced to live under |
| the stairs with all the other 'bad children'. Only then did
Fool begin to realize the true nature of his situation. Bent on escaping from the 'inescapable' house and taking Alice to safety with him, Fool must ward off his fear of what lurks under the stairs and must outwit "mommy & daddy" in the process. Although The People Under the Stairs received some incredibly bad ratings and reviews, I really enjoyed it and thought it was one of Wes Craven's best. Perhaps a lot of the bad press was due to the fact that the film was so farfetched. Granted, there isn't much likelihood of the occurrences in this film actually happening, but I can |
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say without prejudice that there is a far greater chance of a story like this one occurring in life than some of Craven's other films, like Nightmare on Elm Street to name just one. We weren't actually supposed to believe that a scarred child killer in a dirty brown hat would claw us to death in our dreams, but that's what made it such a wonderfully scary film. And along the same lines, I don't think there was a person alive that stocked up on ammo after watching Night of the Living Dead in fear of zombies one day taking over the earth. The unbelieveability is what makes fiction fiction. So, contrary to the opinions of most critics, I have nothing but good things to say about this modern-day fairy tale. If you haven't seen it already, be sure to. It's guaranteed to keep you out of the basement for weeks! |
T H E P E O P L E U N D E R T H E S T A I R S I M A G E G A L L E R Y
The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach The People Under the Stairs Wes Craven Ving Rhames A. J. Langer Brandon Adams Wendy Robie Everett McGill Ghetto Coins Roach
