Wes Craven was a famous movie director (and writer), mostly in the horror genre. However, even his biggest fans would have to admit that his output was kind of hit and miss. The subject of today's post, 1991's "The People Under the Stairs," is one I think was quite good, but didn't get the acclaim it's due. I'll follow my usual format of starting with a brief, spoiler-free synopsis, followed by a long, spoiler-rich recap, and ending with a discussion about some of the film's strengths, themes, and cast and crew info.
Thirteen-year-old Poindexter, known as "Fool," is in a bad situation. His mother is gravely ill, and his family will be evicted in a day if they can't pay the outlandishly high rent for their rattrap apartment. A friend of his sister's, Leroy, convinces him to assist on a robbery attempt of their landlord's house, which is rumored to have a large stash of gold coins. Once inside, though, things go awry. The man and woman who live inside are weird and violent. And the children who live there are strange--mute and monstrous. What are the secrets of the house, and its bizarre inhabitants?
(SPOILERS AHEAD UNTIL MARKED) "The People Under the Stairs" opens in a shabby apartment in a rundown Los Angeles neighborhood, as a young woman, Ruby, reads her brother's future using tarot cards. Her brother, known as "Fool," is warned that evil trials will face him soon. The family's overall status is horrible--their mother is sick with cancer, and they'll be evicted the following day if they can't pay the rent. Ruby's friend Leroy has a criminal proposition for Fool. Leroy and his partner Spenser want to rob the house of the local couple who are the landlords to much of the neighborhood, including Fool and Ruby's apartment. There is a rumor of a large cache of gold coins inside. The scene then shifts to inside the landlord's house. A man and a woman are seen, as they eat some mystery meat with buckshot in it. The woman strictly scolds her daughter, Alice, for misplacing a fork, and for feeding some weird person who lives behind the walls of the house.
We then see Fool dressed up as a Bear Scout, approaching the landlord's house, which we see is the Robeson residence. The plan is for Fool to gain entrance by pretending to sell cookies, and then to observe the security measures inside and report back to Leroy and Spenser. The plan is thwarted, though, as the woman who answers refuses to let Fool inside. Spenser has better luck when he approaches dressed as a gas company employee, as he's grudgingly let inside. As Leroy and Fool wait in their van, the landlord's car drives away. Leroy is suspicious, so he pulls the van into the landlord's driveway, and manages to break into the house. Leroy and Fool discover that the house is strange, with filth, vermin, and a system of locks and security measures, including a vicious attack dog. After trapping the dog, Leroy goes upstairs, while Fool investigates some weird noises coming from the cellar. There he sees people with flashlights lurking in a set of large wooden cage-like partitions. He also then trips over Spenser's dead body. The landlords return, and seeing that the house has been breached, let the dog inside to attack Fool and Leroy. After they subdue the dog using a wired security dog trap, they scatter. The landlord man ("Daddy"), hunts them down, shooting Leroy. Fool is grabbed by the weird guy behind the walls (Roach), and pulled into the space behind the walls through the vent system. He is quickly introduced to Alice, and Roach. Alice is intensely shy and nervous, and has never been outside. Roach had his tongue cut out for the crime of "speaking evil." He was put in the cellar, too, but managed to escape, and now he lives behind the walls. The people in the cellar are the boys who wouldn't behave for Mommy and Daddy. Alice also reveals that many salesmen, utility workers, etc., have been inside and then were murdered like Spenser. Daddy, now dressed in a S& M type leather outfit, hunts for Roach, and then Fool, when they discover that the boy was part of the robbery group after they find his Bear Scout uniform in the discarded van. Strange booby traps and security measures are everywhere throughout the house.
Daddy manages to capture Fool, and he's handcuffed and thrown into the cellar with the bizarre boys who live there. Daddy feeds the boys pieces of Leroy's body, and even indulges himself. Roach scares the other boys away from Fool, and then frees Fool and leads him in an escape through the warren of vents, heating ducts, and tunnels behind the walls. In the chase that ensues Daddy mortally shoots Roach, but Roach gives Fool a gold coin just before he dies. The dog (Prince) gets behind the walls and fights Fool and Alice, but is accidentally stabbed to death by Daddy. Fool and Alice make it to the attic, which has the only open, unlocked windows. Fool gets out and jumps off the roof, remembering that there is a pond underneath to break his fall safely. Back at home, Fool's grandfather reveals that the gold coin he got from Roach is worth enough to pay their rent, and for their mother's cancer treatments. He also tells Fool that Mommy and Daddy Robeson are the crazy brother and sister left from the original funeral home family.
Fool calls the police, telling them about the Robeson's child abuse. Mommy and Daddy manage to act normal and charm the police. However, the commotion allows Fool to sneak in. Mommy and Daddy find and attack Fool, but he subdues them temporarily. He finds Alice hanging by her arms in the attic, and he tells her that she was kidnapped, and that the Robesons aren't her real parents. The previous escape routes have been blocked off by Daddy, though. More fights happen, between Alice and Mommy, and Fool and Daddy. They are interrupted by Ruby and Grandpa at the door. The boys in the cellar break free and attack Mommy, and Alice eventually stabs her fatally. Fool discovers the stash of gold coins and cash, and also some dynamite. Fool manages to detonate the dynamite, killing Daddy and exploding much of the house. The cash flies out of the damaged house, and the gathering neighbors, many of whom are the Robeson's tenants, gather it up. Fool, Alice and the cellar boys go outside as well.
(For brevity's sake, during the rest of this post I'll refer to this movie as "People.") One of the major themes in this movie is, of course, racism. Mommy and Daddy Robeson are the typical stereotype of white landlords exploiting mostly black tenants. Daddy tosses off a racial slur at one point, and very casually, suggesting that he and Mommy are very prejudiced against their African-American neighbors and tenants. Also, the Robesons have clearly kidnapped many children, but they all appear to be white. (At least as far as I can tell--the boys in the cellar are dirty, disheveled, diseased, and sometimes seen only quickly, in dark conditions, but they all seem to be Caucasian.) The Robesons also seem especially concerned that Fool will "spoil" or contaminate the white Alice, perhaps sexually, or even by his "otherness." In a related theme, there is obvious classism going on here, too. The Robesons find their poor tenants to be disgusting, and dangerous, all for the "sin" of not being rich like they are. But their financial comfort seems underutilized. The Robeson's house is huge, and does have some valuable antiques, but in a lot of ways it's run down, crappy, and infested with vermin. Mommy and Daddy have literal piles of cash and gold in the cellar, going mostly unused. They exploit their tenants, but then don't even spend much of their ill-gotten gains. It makes the whole thing even more reprehensible somehow, because it's for no point, or gain. The Robesons seem extremely joyless, rather Mr. Burns-esque. There's also the theme of gentrification--Fool's family is the last in their building, and the Robesons want to force them out so they can tear down the building down and rebuild.
And then there's what the Robesons eat. Here you can say that Wes Craven was a little too "on the nose" with his social commentary, almost latter day George Romero-style. But I can forgive it, since it makes the film that much more disturbing and scary. I refer to the frequent cannibalism, obviously. Mommy and Daddy could clearly afford to eat the most expensive steaks, caviar, fine wines, etc., if they wanted to, but instead they chow down on the corpses of their human victims. They go out of their way to do so, almost intentionally so that they embody the symbolism of the rich living off the poor. Plus, they seek to contaminate, and bring others down to their level in the process. They could feed the cellar boys cheap gruel, or something, but no--these captive boys are given human meat to eat as well. Maybe some would say that the cannibalism is to get rid of the murder victim's bodies, to remove evidence, but this doesn't really work, since the bones and remains of countless victims are scattered throughout the house. Burying the bodies, or leaving them in the neighborhood would be more effective to avoid being caught with evidence. True, the Robesons are clearly insane, so there's that too--their decisions often don't make much logical sense.
Family and fertility are some more important issues in "People." We learn that Mommy and Daddy are really brother and sister, but they give every indication that they're lovers as well. Their several kinks go beyond this, such as Daddy regularly wearing an S & M type black leather "gimp" suit. And given Mommy being the most dominant one of the two, it's probable that she's the "top", or sadist of the pair. There's also a hint that Daddy has sexual interest in Alice, too, and that Mommy might realize and seek to stop it, although whether it's out of either jealousy, or a rare moment of humanity we don't know. But, perhaps a little oddly, the Robesons are obsessed with adding to their family with children. You can even argue that the cellar boys are still cared about, in a warped way--the Robesons could have easily killed the boys who came up short as "sons," but they don't. They keep them alive in the basement, albeit in savage conditions. But Mommy and Daddy are only seen to kill one cellar dweller, Roach, and only because he's escaped and is actively thwarting their plans. There is an obvious question here--why do the Robesons kidnap outsiders to serve as their children? Why not just make their own? Is one or both of them infertile? Or, in a rare moment of insight, do they realize that the product of incest might be diseased, or have birth defects? Again, it's an unusual choice to make. The cliche horror movie move would be for Mommy and Daddy to have a pack of deformed, natural children. (Although, thinking about it, maybe Wes Craven did this to avoid it being like his earlier horror classic, "The Hills Have Eyes.")
The Robeson's insanity is interesting as well. There's no question that they're both severely mentally ill, but they are capable of functioning in society, at least barely. Both are able to "pass" as normal when the police are inside the house. Even the professional child welfare officers, who probably have extensive experience in figuring out which parents are crazy and abusive, are taken in by the charade. And the Robesons own much of the city neighborhood, and function in this capacity adequately. So at some point they put down their human meat dinners and bondage gear, and file complicated tax returns, permits, and the rest of the bureaucratic minutia necessary to remain as landlords. And if Fool hadn't narrowly escaped and then brought back help the Robesons would have presumably continued their horrific crimes against humanity for years, or even decades.
In addition, religion is a major part of the Robeson's lives and personalities. Like many villains, they see themselves as good and holy, and anyone against them is evil, and bound for Hell. Which much require a staggering amount of denial and rationalizing, to make up for their many, many sins. They lie, cheat, take advantage of the poor, steal, kidnap, murder, and even commit cannibalism, while still thinking that they're in the right. Many so called religious people show a lot of hypocrisy, but the Robesons take theirs to repellent (but darkly entertaining) degrees. The "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," monkeys perfectly embody their philosophy--it's okay to DO evil, but just don't talk about it, acknowledge it, or witness it. It you don't admit to doing something evil, especially to yourself, it didn't happen, I suppose, in their world view.
One of "People"'s virtues is the casting. The story is admittedly ridiculous at times, and also rough and disturbing, but the actors acquit themselves well. Wendy Robie and Everett McGill are great as the Robeson siblings, really selling the idea of this crazy, kidnapping, murderous, cannibalistic pair. Sometimes they're kind of going over the top, but it is appropriate for their characters. The younger actors are unusually effective as well. As I've noted previously, I typically find child/young teen actors tiresome, and they often detract from an otherwise good movie. But Brandon Adams as Fool plays it well--he seems believably scared and immature, but ultimately strong and resourceful enough. And A.J. Langer is sympathetic as the poor abused, traumatized Alice. The other supporting players work as well. Sean Whalen (Roach) is weird looking but sympathetic, and the robbers (Ving Rhames as Leroy, and Jeremy Roberts as Spenser), and Fool's family (Kelly Jo Minter as Ruby, Bill Cobbs as Grandpa Booker) are all effective.
I should also mention that I really enjoyed the spaces behind the walls, and between the floors, complete with hidden entrances and exits, booby traps, etc. When you think about it they don't make much sense--why would a building have such huge unused areas around and behind each room? But it is undeniably fun, and adds a weird, funhouse-type atmosphere to the film. And kind of reminiscent of the similarly unrealistically large space behind the walls in the classic "Evil Dead 2" (1987).
(END SPOILERS--SAFE FOR ALL READERS) Writer/director Wes Craven had a long career, unfortunately ending when he died in 2015. I would credit him with directing 4 horror classics--"The Last House on the Left" (1972), "The Hills Have Eyes" (1977), "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), and "Scream" (1996), all which he also wrote except for the last one. Other highlights include directing "The Serpent and the Rainbow" (1988), "Scream 2" (1997), "Scream 3" (2000) "Red Eye" (2005), and the non horror "Music of the Heart" (1999). He also wrote and directed "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" (1994) and "Scream 4" (2011), and co-wrote the excellent "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" (1987 and see my July 7, 2018 post for more information).
As for the actors, star Brandon Adams (Fool), was also in "Moonwalker" (1988), "The Mighty Ducks" (1992), "The Sandlot" (1993), "Ghost in the Machine" (1993), and "D2: The Mighty Ducks" (1994). Daddy Robeson was played by Everett McGill, probably best known for roles in ""Brubaker" (1980), "Quest for Fire" (1981), "Dune" (1984), "Silver Bullet" (1985), "License to Kill" (1989), and the television series "Twin Peaks" (1990-91, 2017). Wendy Robie (Mommy Robeson) played McGill's wife on "Twin Peaks" (1990-91, 2017), and was also in such films as "Vampire in Brooklyn" (1995, one of Craven's least respected movies), "The Glimmer Man" (1996), "The Dentist 2" (1998), "The Attic Expeditions" (2001), and "Were the World Mine" (2008). Alice portrayer A.J. Langer is probably best known for her role in the television series "My So-Called Life" (1994-95), but she also appeared in movies like "The Killing Box" (1993), "Arcade" (1993), "Escape from L.A." (1996), "Meet the Deedles" (1998), and on television's "Seinfeld" (1996). The most famous member of the cast was clearly Ving Rhames, who played Leroy. Career highlights for him include "Casualties of War" (1989), "Jacob's Ladder" (1990, see my recent post on April 4, 2020), "Dave" (1993), "Pulp Fiction" (1994), the "Mission: Impossible" series (1996-2018), "Con Air" (1997), "Dawn of the Dead" (2004, the remake) and "Piranha 3D (2010). Bill Cobbs (Grandpa Booker) was in such films as "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974), "Trading Places" (1983), "Silkwood" (1983), "The Color of Money" (1986), "The January Man" (1989), "Demolition Man" (1993), "Night at the Museum" (2006), and "Oz the Great and Powerful" (2013). Kelly Jo Minter (Ruby) had roles in such movies as "Mask" (1985), "Summer School" (1987), "The Lost Boys" (1987), "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child" (1989), "New Jack City" (1991), "Popcorn" (1991), and "Doc Hollywood" (1991). Sean Whalen (Roach) was in such films as "Batman Returns" (1992), "Tammy and the T-Rex" (1994), "Twister" (1996), "That Thing You Do!" (1996), "Suicide Kings" (1997), "Hatchet III" (2013), and "3 From Hell" (2019). And Spenser portrayer Jeremy Robert's resume includes roles in "The Marrying Man" (1991), "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991), "The Mask" (1994), "The Mexican" (2001), and on the television series "Sunset Beach" (1997) and "The X-Files" (1999).
"The People Under the Stairs" actually did good business, earning a box office take of 31 million dollars on a 6 million dollar budget. But its reviews were mixed, and I think it's largely forgotten. True, it's not one of Craven's best, but it's far from his worst, which to me would be "The Hills Have Eyes Part II" (1984) and "Shocker" (1989). (To be fair, I haven't seen several of his other reputed stinkers.) It's very scary and disturbing. As I went into detail previously, there is quite a bit of social commentary in it, but it's not too obvious, and doesn't detract from the overall story. So fans of freaky, unsettling horror films should give it a look.
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