I have to admit that I'm a huge fan of Wes Craven's in between movies. What I mean is most anything made between his mega-moneymaking franchises Nightmare on Elm St. and Scream. I'm talking about films like Shocker, The Serpent and the Rainbow and Deadly Friend. Quite often fans and critics alike pan these films, but I love them all. If I had to pick a favorite, I mean the one that I absolutely could NOT live without, I'd have to pick the '91 Craven classic The People Under the Stairs.

An utterly bizarre and twisted fairy tale come to life, The People Under the Stairs is the quintessential 90's horror film. A young boy from the ghetto aptly named Fool (Brandon Adams) is suckered into an ultimately botched heist for some gold coins hidden in his landlord's house. Fool's mother is sick and it's implied that his sister takes to the streets for some quick cash. As if all of this weren't enough they've recently been evicted by their evil landlord, so what's a 13-year old fool to do? Steal from the very people that are holding you back to begin with (sound familiar?). With the help of his sister's boyfriend Leroy (Ving Rhames of Pulp Fiction) they break into what turns out to be an unbelievable house of extreme horrors and they have to fight to get out alive. Turns out that a creepy brother and sister team (AKA the landlord) masquerading as husband and wife live in this house with their "daughter" Alice (A J Langer who played Rayanne on My So Called Life). The two who are only known as Mom and Dad or Man and Woman (played by Everett McGill and Wendy Robie who had previously shared screen time as a couple on Twin Peaks) harbor some disturbing secrets deep within the bowels of the house. Without giving too much away it's safe to say that they have their home rigged with outrageous booby traps and deadly contraptions and they keep a dank cellar full of mistakes AKA kids that did not make the cut of "perfect children". The two have a thirst for blood and most importantly a thrill for the actual hunt (you've never seen people hunt like this before!) as they attempt to track down the unwelcome intruders and dispose of them (they just hate cleaning up themselves).

Part horrific fairy tale and part Mommie Dearest (or Daddy Dearest for that matter) on acid, The People Under the Stairs is a highly original retelling of just about every coming of age fable you would have grown up with as a child. Told under extreme conditions and presented in a very violent and disturbing nature the film manages to come across as being wholly unique, despite the fact that at its root, it really isn't. The characters are cookie cut outs (mean abusive parents, captive child, ghetto hoods, young boy seeking to attain his manhood… you get the idea) but they're presented in such an over the top way (and under such extreme circumstances) that you'll swear you've never seen anything quite like it before.

Much of the actual action takes place within the confines of the house and surprisingly enough manages to stay interesting throughout. This is one crazy house with a viscous dog, stairs that turn into ramps, and at the flip of a switch all of the doors bolt shut and shades are drawn. With secret passageways everywhere Fool must maneuver his way through the maze like structure without being caught by the parents or the creatures that dwell within. At one point Fool is aided by one of the nicer creatures named Roach (who had his tongue cut out for saying bad things mind you) who manages to guide Fool through the walls and eventually to young Alice. Whether or not they all escape is another story. For this you'll have to tune in and find out on your own.

Presented in an anamorphic widescreen transfer The People Under the Stairs looks pretty good all things considered. This isn't a reference quality transfer but for a budget horror flick from '91 it looks pretty damn good. Flesh tones are a bit on the reddish side, but aside from that the colors are fairly strong and stable. Black levels are fairly solid, with some of the darker scenes exhibiting just a hint of artifacting. A lot of scenes take place in near dark situations between the walls of the house and in the dank cellar. I can understand how this would be a very difficult film to author and I'd say that Universal has done an admirable job. Print damage and grain are minimal with only a few instances of each in a couple of scenes. Overall we've got a very pleasing transfer with only a few slight blemishes.

Audio is presented in a 2.0 surround mix and is pretty impressive. Dialogue is crisp and clear with no distortion and there is some nice separation between the front and rear speakers. There are moments in which the sound fills the room and for a 2.0 mix it sounds really nice and atmospheric.

Extras include the original theatrical trailer. I'm through being picky about the extras, at this point I'll take what I can get. I'm just glad to have the film on DVD in a fairly decent widescreen transfer.

From what I understand this import DVD is either OOP or going OOP rather quickly. If you can find it, you shouldn't be set back more than 20 bucks so go for it. No word of a domestic release as of yet so take a look around and see if you can grab one. It's easily worth every penny you'll pay.

If you need help in finding a place to order you can try here.