Search - Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity Movie Release: 1991 DVD Release: 10/07/2003 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 43 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 9 Genres: Comedy, Horror, Satire, Horror Comedy

Wes Craven wrote and directed this surrealistic horror-comedy, which was inspired by a true story of parents keeping their children locked in a basement for years. Fool (Brandon Adams), an African-American teen, breaks into the home of the wealthy landlords who evicted his family from a ghetto tenement. A fortune in gold coins is rumored to exist inside, but Fool discovers that the mansion is a chamber of horrors presided over by a pair of incestuous, serial killer siblings (Everett McGill and Wendy Robie). The twisted couple has also tried to raise a succession of kidnapped boys. Each botched effort is handled the same way -- the victim's eyes, ears and tongues are removed, and he's sent to live in the sealed-off basement, where a colony of similarly deformed "brothers" resides. Fool is able to avoid the evil lovers as he moves through the house's maze of hidden passageways. He discovers that the occupants have a daughter, Alice (A.J. Langer), who has survived their abuse, so he rescues her and they attempt to free the "people under the stairs." Adams, who made his feature debut with in film, was familiar to viewers as the star of rock singer Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (1988). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Brandon Adams - Fool
Everett McGill - Daddy
Wendy Robie - Mommy
A.J. Langer - Alice
Ving Rhames - Leroy
Sean Whalen - Roach

Universal's DVD of The People Under the Stairs is a decent if underwhelming edition of the film. The video transfer isn't as sharp as most modern transfers but it delivers the film's nocturnal look of the cinematography with plenty of clarity and no defects. The Dolby 2.0 Stereo audio lacks the power a remix would have given it but it delivers the soundtrack with a decent amount of sonic muscle. Outside of this solid transfer, this disc of The People Under the Stairs has nothing else to offer the viewer, not even a theatrical trailer. Given Wes Craven's willingness to do commentaries for his work, it's surprising he wasn't approached to do the honors for this film. However, the solid transfer and the cheap price make this disc a decent value and this disc of The People Under the Stairs makes a worthwhile pick for horror fans on a budget. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide