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Joe Blevins 
"Don't I look handsome?"
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 Posted - 05/01/2007 : 23:07:39
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I caught Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs on Chicago television's "Svengoolie" over the weekend. God, what an oddball movie. It's one of those "what were they thinking?" misfires that big studios (in this case, Universal) occasionally release. The movie is so bizarre and over-the-top that it's actually pretty watchable. To steal a line from the movie Ed Wood, this flick is a feathered fish. It's not quite a horror movie and not quite a comedy. (Too goofy and not scary enough to be the former, too violent to be the latter.) In this sense, it belongs next to films like Motel Hell and Parents on the video shelf. (If you organize your movies by theme rather than alphabetically  .)
Those who have seen Craven's debut film, The Last House on the Left might recall that the movie contains several interludes of wacky comedy in what is otherwise a greuling, grisly horror film. It's a very queasy combination of blood and yuks. But in People Under the Stairs, Craven turns up the Goofy-Meter to 11. And yet, paradoxically, he has the gall to include some very REAL issues -- child abuse, poverty, the exploitation of the poor by the rich -- into his completely ridiculous fantasy film. It's beyond tasteless. (The movie's premise was even inspired by a tragic real-life news item in which parents kept their children prisoner in their home.)
I can't really recommend the film to horror buffs, who will likely find the villains too silly to be scary, but I certainly wasn't bored. (Side note: one very perceptive review noted that the film's villains are apparently modeled on Ronald and Nancy Reagan, right down to the way they call each other "Mommy" and "Daddy." In most horror films, this would be ludicrous overreading. But here, it's quite likely, given the amount of social satire in the script.) The cast members, including Ving Rhames and Bill Cobbs, certainly give their all. Production values aren't bad either. You could do worse.
BONUS: the film's FWFR page is sparse but contains a few gems. Enjoy: http://www.fwfr.com/display.asp?ID=8357 |
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Wes Craven's "The People Under the Stairs"
