The People Under the Stairs - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The People Under the Stairs



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Landlord’s suck don’t they?

Ahh, the 1990s. There was nothing like it in the horror world. While the 70s and 80s were the golden years of classic horror, the 1990s were a wild ride unlike any other. Blending in the gore of the 80s with over the top tongue in cheek humor, not to mention the rise of CGI (that was barely passable back then) and you have a cocaine fueled bit of lunacy that most directors jumped on eagerly. Wes Craven was in full swing during the 1980s with his Nightmare on Elm Street series, and continued on into the 90s with the Scream franchise, and cult flicks like Shocker, Vampire in Brooklyn and the highly under rated The People Under the Stairs. It wasn’t exactly a box office smash hit, but The People Under the Stairs is pure adrenaline fun with gory kills and a macabre sense of humor and wildness that is just so incredibly infectious.

It’s almost amusing the corollary between the 1991 film’s premise and now. The plot revolves around a young boy nicknamed “Fool” (Brandon Quintin Adams) and his sister Ruby (Kelly Jo Minter) trying to figure out a way to get rent before their slumlord landlord can evict them for non payment. The entire community is actually falling apart, as a single lone couple own over 50 local buildings and are looking at razing the apartments Fool and Ruby live in so they can build a commercial building for peanuts. Ruby’s boy toy Leroy (Ving Rhames) has a plan though. He, Fool and his buddy Spenser (Jeremy Roberts) are going to over to the couple’s house and rob the place. Rumor mill has it that they are LOADED from all of the rent they’re dragging in from the local area, and supposedly have a coin collection that would make all of them rich a dozen times over.

The robbery SEEMS to go as planned, but getting in is only the first step. Inside the trio find out that it’s a veritable fortress and the couple a bit more to hide than just some coins. It seems that the Man (Everett McGill) and his sister (Wendy Robie) have been stealing local kids for decades, and in their twisted madness trying to raise them as their own. The only thing is, the kids are fail their “parents” in some way or the other, and the result is banishment to the cellar under the stairs. The only one who has survived up there is Alice (A.J. Langer), a frightened young thing who can barely hold on to her own sanity among the cruel couple. Now it’s up to the intruders to try and make it out of the fortress like house alive and hopefully take Alice with them.

The People Under the Stairs is pure absolute cheese mixed with unadulterated bat crap crazy. The first act plays out as a typical “thriller”, with the boys trying to break into the creepy house with the creepy couple, but it soon takes a sharp left turn into the bizarre. We have Everett McGill running around the place in a gimp suit and a shotgun trying to kill Fool and the boy in the wall, while Wendy Robie screeches from the heavens in a maniacal sort of frenzy. There’s cannibalism, crazy mutated freaks in the cellar, delusions of creepy sex, and of course early 90s jive spike from Fool and Leroy. The third act drifts into actual horror with a more gory arc, culminating in a HILARIOUS set of special effects that had me rolling on the ground laughing.

Craven is just having a ball here, as is everyone on screen. The film is more macabre horror comedy than a true blue terror fest, but there is more than enough chills to go around. The film didn’t excctly light the box office on fire in 1991, but it has become a cult classic over the years that is one of my personal favorites. No, it’s not the best of the 90s horror flicks. Nor is it a truly great film. But the entire flick is just so bat crap crazy and gonzo that you just HAVE to have a good time with it.




Rating:

Rated R for terror/violence




4K Video: Video:

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Universal Blu-ray from 2014, but even without A/Bing them side by side (which I did after the viewing) It’s obvious that the new shout factory restoration is head and shoulders better. The old Uni disc had a bit of smoothing, some wonky grain structure, and rather “meh” detail levels. This new 4K UHD is light years better, with strong detail levels across the board, no major issues with the grain levels, and some fantastic colors (even with all of the blackness that the film was shot in). There’s no major banding or crush and shadow details are absolutely superb. Even the Blu-ray that Scream Factory included in the combo pack is head and shoulders better than the Uni disc. I’ve never seen the 2015 Special Edition Blu-ray that Scream Factory did of the disc, but from what I gather it was from the same master as the Uni disc, so it’s not going to hold up either. Simply put, this new 4K remaster (restoration from the original negative according to Scream’s press release) is the definitive version and the one to get.









Audio:

The old Uni Blu-ray only had a 2.0 DTS-HD MA track (the original theatrical mix I believe), but the Scream Factory 2015 disc had both a 5.1 mix and a 2.0 mix that is now replicated onto the 4K UHD disc. The 5.1 Mix is a nice upgrade over the old 2.0 mix from Uni, with a bit more channel separation, some great use of creaking effects in the surrounds, but you can definitely tell that this came from a 2.0 source. The track is really a 3.0 track with some mild use of surrounds, and the subwoofers are nearly nonexistent except in small portions. It still sounds quite good, with great vocal clarity and no audio defects, it’s just not going to blow you away with a rip roaring surround mix.







Extras:

4K UHD Disc
• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• Audio Commentary with director Wes Craven
• Audio Commentary with actors Brandon Adams, A.J. Langer, Sean Whalen and Yan Birch
• Audio Commentary with actor Brandon Adams, moderated by Calum Waddell
• Fear, Freud & Class Warfare – an interview with Wes Craven
• Behind Closed Doors – an interview with actress A.J. Langer
• Silent But Deadly – an interview with actor Sean Whalen
• Underneath the Floorboards – filmmaker Jeffrey Reddick recalls the lasting impact of the film
• Theatrical Trailer

Blu-ray Disc
• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• Audio Commentary with director Wes Craven
• Audio Commentary with actors Brandon Adams, A.J. Langer, Sean Whalen and Yan Birch
• Audio Commentary with actor Brandon Adams, moderated by Calum Waddell
• House Mother – an interview with actress Wendy Robie
• What Lies Beneath: The Effects of THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS
• House of Horrors – an interview with cinematographer Sandi Sissel
• Settling the Score – an interview with composer Don Peake
• Behind-the-Scenes footage
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Vintage Making-of Featurette
• Original Storyboards
• Still Gallery

Final Score: ​

Scream Factory has done a stunning job on the remaster (and an even better looking Blu-ray than the 2014 Universal Blu-ray), and given it a BOAT LOAD of extras, making this one of the best special editions from them in quite some time. Personally, I adore the film to death and have watched it so many times that I can see ever joke, and every kill coming a mile away, but still somehow have a ball with it. Thanks to the new remaster and 5.1 mix, this is a huge upgrade over the 2014 Blu-ray, and a great buy for horror fans.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Brandon Quinton Adams, Everitt McGill, Wendy Robie, A.J. Langer, Ving Rhames, Sean Whalen, Bill Cobbs
Directed by: Wes Craven
Written by: Wes Craven
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 102 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 30th, 2023

Recommendation: Awesome Cult Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never heard or saw this one before. Will check it out.

 

[Asere]

Awesome cult watch it is. Thank you for the review.

 

[Michael Scott]

Awesome cult watch it is. Thank you for the review.

I figured this would be right up your alley Ariel.

besides, who doesn't want to see Everett McGill running around in a studded gimp costume and a shotgun?