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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS
The People Under the Stairs

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The People Under the Stairs (1991)

69%
N/A
62%
N/A
N/A
N/A
69 %
Reviews Counted: 13 Fresh: 9  Rotten:4 Average Rating: 5.8/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Synopsis: Fool, a 13-year-old boy, lives in the ghetto with his sister and sick mother. When his family doesn't have enough money to pay the rent, Fool is persuaded by Leroy (Ving Rhames) to break into his landlord's house to steal a valuable coin collection. Once Fool and Leroy are inside the huge and... Fool, a 13-year-old boy, lives in the ghetto with his sister and sick mother. When his family doesn't have enough money to pay the rent, Fool is persuaded by Leroy (Ving Rhames) to break into his landlord's house to steal a valuable coin collection. Once Fool and Leroy are inside the huge and heavily fortified house, they realize they've gotten more than they bargained for, as the landlords turn out to be an insane brother and sister couple (Everett McGill and Wendy Robie) who murder visitors and keep their kidnapped "sons" locked up in the basement as deformed monsters. Only Alice, an imprisoned girl, can save Fool from the horrors within, and a frantic chase begins between the walls of the bizarre house as Fool tries to save himself, Alice, and his community from the evil landlords. A unique and inventive horror film, THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS combines the structure of a classic fairy tale with modern social criticism and imaginative production design. Director Wes Craven based his film on real-life news reports of parents who kept their children locked up at home. [More]

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Starring: Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, Brandon Adams, A.J. Langer, Ving Rhames

Director: Wes Craven

DVD Info

Release:

Jul 10, 2003

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Anamorphic Widecreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Surround - English
  • Dolby Digital Mono - Spanish

Interactive Features:

  • Scene Access
  • Interactive Menus

Reviews

 
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1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
09/09/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
D

Perhaps the most staggeringly incompetent movie in the director’s uneven canon.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/03/05
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
Ratings Image
3/5

A very uneven but interesting horror thriller with a social message that's somewhat lost in a script with some effective terror and less working humour and slapstick.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/28/04
Andreas Samuelson
Slasherpool
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
08/30/04
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
2/5

Craven toils under the influence of Lynch and Raimi, but below the surface hyperactivity the results are the same.

comment Comment
06/08/04
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)
Ratings Image
1/5

No review available.

comment Comment
09/06/03
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
Ratings Image
5/5

Hysterically vicious Reagan-Bush parody dressed up as a horror movie.

comment Comment
08/24/03
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Ratings Image
3/5

Goofy fun for fans of schlocky horror films.

comment Comment
03/05/03
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
02/09/03
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
Ratings Image
4/5

Very good Wes Craven thriller

comment Comment
12/27/02
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
10/13/02
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/25/02
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
3/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
05/23/01
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken's Horror Films
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Ratings Image
3/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Richard Harrington
Washington Post
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