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:

kidnapping | child abuse | house | cellar | incest | 

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Taglines:

In every neighbourhood there is one house that adults whisper about and children cross the street to avoid. Now Wes Craven, creator of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" takes you inside...

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for terror/violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wes Craven's 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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Sean Whalen who played Roach was 27 years old when he played the part of at least supposedly a 15 or 16 year old boy in the film.

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Goofs

Why is it possible for the people under the stairs to bust through the walls and stairs but not through the wood slats that keeps them in downstairs? Especially after the boards have been weakened by gunshots.

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Quotes

Leroy: He came at me like an airplane or something!

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Connections

Featured in The Directors: The Films of Wes Craven (1999)

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Soundtracks

LULLABY FOR A LITTLE TREE
Courtesy of Southern Music Publishing Co., Inc.

User Reviews

very stylish

fast paced fun and very stylish little horror flick is very well acted and is kinda creepy in spots i really liked the settings in this one and the dialog is intelligent and it is always interesting and quite stunning at times oh and ya get to see Ving Rhames that is always a pleasure there is lots of blood and a creepy looking basement with lots of weird images and other great delights the direction is awesome tons of stylish shots and it has a great happy ending the movie is at times horrifying and with Wes Craven directing that makes it even better so all in all a great little film that i highly highly recommend i give this movie a ***1/2 out of 5