The Trailer

The Plot

A young boy (about 10 years of age) helps his sister’s boyfriend burgle the house of their money grabbing landlord. The house is a cross between that of the Adams Family and Fort Knox.. The burglars manage to get in but they cannot get out. The owners return. Locked inside the house, unable to escape, the boy witnesses the horrific habits of the owners, and the numerous caged “people under the stairs”.
(Source IMDB)

The Breakdown

Who is in it? Brandon Quintin Adams and Ving Rhames
Genre: Horror
Was it scary? Not really.
Would this movie be for every horror fan? Yes.
Should you see it? If you like horror and you haven’t seen this movie, then what the heck are you doing?! Get it and watch it.

The Verdict

This is one of the quirky’est films that Wes Craven has put out there. TNT used to show this movie ALL…THE… TIME, but still I meet people that have never heard of it. This movie was the exact reason that I want secret passages in my home till this day. The couple that own the house are cold and creepy, they hold kids like prisoners and keep people in their basement locked up under the stairs.

I don’t know what it was about this movie that I liked exactly, but it just worked. This is a lot like Alice in Wonderland the way you never really know where you are, the house is full of twisting hallways and secret passages, and it even has a girl named Alice. If you have never seen this and are a fan of horror you need to re-evaluate if you really like movies or not, because this movie was on so often, it was hard not to see it! I give this movie a 6/10. It may be a little goofy but it’s worth it.

Official Nutshell-Movies Explanation

The People Under the Stairs (1991): A kid in search of gold coins gets caught in a house with insane owners and prisoners under the stairs.