The People Under the Stairs (1991)

Two adults and a juvenile break into a house occupied by a brother and sister and their stolen children. There, they must fight for their lives.

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer:

Wes Craven

Stars:

Brandon Quintin Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie

2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brandon Quintin Adams	...	Fool (as Brandon Adams)
Everett McGill	...	Man
Wendy Robie	...	Woman
A.J. Langer	...	Alice
Ving Rhames	...	Leroy
Sean Whalen	...	Roach
Bill Cobbs	...	Grandpa Booker
Kelly Jo Minter	...	Ruby Williams
Jeremy Roberts	...	Spenser
Conni Marie Brazelton	...	Mary
Josh Coxx	...	Young Cop (as Joshua Cox)
John Hostetter	...	Veteran Cop
John Mahon	...	Police Sergeant
Teresa Velarde	...	Social Worker
George R. Parker	...	Attic Cop

Storyline

The People Under the Stairs is the story of a young boy (Fool) from the ghetto and takes place on his 13th birthday. In an attempted burglary (along with two others) of the home of his family's evil landlords, he becomes trapped inside their large suburban house and discovers the secret of the "children" that the insane brother and sister have been "rearing" under the stairs.

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Plot Keywords:

trapped in a house | child abuse | african american protagonist | incest | rottweiler | 

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Taglines:

In every neighborhood there is one house that adults whisper about and children cross the street to avoid.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for terror/violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

There was talk of doing a possible remake of this film at one point by Wes Craven.

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Goofs

When Fool attacks Daddy with the poker, it snaps in half. When he runs downstairs it is completely intact again.

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Quotes

Alice: He said he killed you!
Fool: He was exaggerating.

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Connections

Featured in Settling the Score: With Don Peake (2015)

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Soundtracks

DO THE RIGHT THING
Written by David 'Redhead' Guppy & Markell Riley (as Markell Riley)
Performed by Readhead Kingpin & The F.B.I.
Courtesy of Virgin Records, Ltd.

User Reviews

All in the name of perfection.

Once again director/writer Wes Craven delivers the thrills and chills. A young boy(Brandon Adams)is persuaded by a hapless crook(Ving Rhames) to break into his landlord's house to steal a gold coin collection. The house turns out to be an overly secured mansion that was formerly a funeral home. The demented landlord(Everett McGill)and his wife(Wendy Robie) and daughter(A.J. Langer)are not the only weirdness to be found. There is the mangled denizens under the stairs...in the basement...between the walls. The husband and wife are actually brother and sister. This tale of horror turns into a campy riot and easy to gain a cult following.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

The People Under the Stairs

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,522,250, 3 November 1991

Gross USA:

$24,204,154

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$31,347,154

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Alive Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 99 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1