Wes Craven has created some of the great horror movies of the past two decades, from Nightmare on Elm Street to Scream, however it is quite well known that Wes hardly has the Midas touch.
Exhibit one: the People Under the Stairs
I remember the trailers for this film back in '91, the eerie voice-over, the dark imagery of strange narrow tunnels and flashlights... even the video box plays it as a "fast-paced horror thriller." The San Francisco Chronicle even called it "Wes Craven's most satisfying movie." What the hell were they watching.
The People Under the Stairs had little to actually do with people under stairs, and a lot more to do with a quirky couple who run the slums and their oddly fortified home where people may break in but never get out.
We meet Fool on his 13th birthday, and he's brought along with his sister's boyfriend (played by Ving Rhames) to break into the couples house because they suspect they have some gold buried their. Of course, the boyfriend gets killed and Fool gets trapped inside, where he meets the couples abused "daughter" and their viscous dog. Oh, and the people under the stairs... can't forget them.
I don't know if the film was meant to be as funny as it turned out or not, from the S&M getup of the man of the house, to the obviously fake dead dog. Craven's movies typically play with convention, this movie strays so far away from convention, it just becomes silly. I would say it's a horrible movie if I didn't laugh so hard. Aside from the swearing, there's not much separating this R-rated children's adventure from PG-rated children's adventures like Goonies, so it's still a good movie for the 10+ crowd.