Kicking and screaming, horror was moving into the present into contemporary cities and respectable suburbs.
Wes Craven was one of a young generation of filmmakers who brought about a similar change in 70s cinema.
According to Craven, the plot was partly inspired by a real-life case.
InThe People Under The Stairs,Leroy and 13-year-old Fool live a miserable existence in a Los Angeles ghetto.
Then theres the nasty, cannibalistic secret they keep hidden in the basement… Fool stumbles into this strange alternate universe, where all normal laws of morality appear to have been suspended.
Theres a sense that Craven enjoys the satirical aspects of the story most of all.
Further, Craven makes a clear link between the Robesons depravity and their increasing wealth.
Every generation more insane than the one before it.
Started out as a family running a funeral home, selling cheap coffins for expensive prices.
Then they got their fingers into real estate, started making a lot of money taking over peoples homes.
The more money they got, the greedier they got.
Cravens fascination with murder in suburbia continued in the hugely successfulScreamseries, which began in 1996.
The People Under The Stairsis out on Blu-ray on the 4th November in the UK.
