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Memoir

Grace Jones

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Born in 1952 into a family of ministers in Kingston, Jamaica, the statuesque and strikingly...

LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The People Under the Stairs (1991) in Movies

Jan 2, 2021

Often overlooked by Wes Craven's wider known films, The People Under the Stairs is a gem of an early nineties horror in its own right for a few reasons.

First and foremost, it has a great cast. Brandon Quintin Adams heads up the cast. He's a cute kid who is easy to root for. The supporting cast is strong too, including Ving Rhames, A.J. Langer, and Sean Whalen. But the stars of the show are it's horrendous villains. Twin Peaks alumni Wendy Robie and Everett McGill play the antagonists (simply credited as "woman" and "man") and they just relish in how absolutely vile they are, and are the main source of entertainment throughout the runtime. The Hall of Fame of horror villainy isn't easy to get into, being crammed with popular icons and all, but these two deserve a spot for sure.

Other than these positives, it's also boasts some decent practical gore, a few creepy visuals, some moments of well earned tension, and is socially relevant to this day, touching upon subjects such as class difference, unaffordable healthcare, and racism. It's screenplay is an intelligent one in this respect, as well as having a fun side to it.

My only real issue with The People Under the Stairs is it's pacing. It does take a little too long to get going. When everything starts to get chaotic, it really becomes a good time, but it does get a bit repetitive, no matter how entertaining it is to see Everett McGill running around in a gimp suit.

These are minor gripes though, it's definitely worth a watch. It's another solid piece of work from Wes Craven, and deserves it's cult status wholeheartedly.