When I was a senior in high school, I voted for this as my favorite movie for the high school yearbook, and so did a few of my friends. I think we had enough people pick it that it won. Sorry to everyone I graduated with who will look at that yearbook and expect to be reminded of a movie from the 2000s.
The People Under the Stairs
In every neighborhood, there is one house that adults whisper about and children cross the street to avoid.
Rating
5.0 (1)
Release Date
11/1/1991Runtime
103 minsOverview
Trapped inside a fortified home owned by a mysterious couple, a young boy quickly learns the true nature of the homicidal inhabitants, and secret creatures hidden deep within the walls.
Status
ReleasedOriginal Language
EnglishBudget
$6,000,000Revenue
$31,400,000Homepage
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How It Feels
Read from this film's synopsis, keywords and credits, and used to work out what it sits beside.
A darkly comic descent into a nightmare house where class rage and family horror collide with surreal dread. The film balances genuine scares with an anarchic, satirical energy that makes the grotesque almost cartoonish.
Mood
Dread-soakedAbsurdDefiant
Themes
SurvivalClassFamilyComing apart
Tone
Ironic
Pacing
Brisk
Look
Stylized genreHigh-contrast
Structure
Single location
Heads up
Graphic violenceChild endangermentSexual violenceBody horror
Reviews
Sean Whalen and Bill Cobbs have been in a million things, and my brain always goes to People Under the Stairs first.
One of my favorite movies as a teen, and it holds up really well, especially with the horror elements being anchored in themes of poverty, class inequality, racism, gentrification, etc. I usually don't want my beloved movies to get remakes, but I am intrigued by Jordan Peele's planned remake on this.
Favorite (Not Necessarily Best) Four From Every Year Since Birth
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