The Horror Queers are closing in on the end of our eight-week camp marathon! Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday, Cursed, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, I Know Who Killed Me and The Perfection are all in the rearview mirror, which leaves only three titles to discuss.
Who better for Trace and I – along with queer director Carter Smith (The Ruins) – to revisit than prolific horror icon Wes Craven? That’s right, for the second time in six weeks, we’re checking out a Craven property as we journey back to 1991 to spend time with Mommy and Daddy and The People Under the Stairs.
Unlike Cursed, The People Under The Stairs is an unabashedly good film…that also happens to feature a pair of deliciously campy performances from veteran Twin Peaks actors, Everett McGill and Wendy Robie.
The pair play corrupt landlords who are gentrifying the LA ghetto at the expense of its at-risk, vulnerable black population. When young Fool (Brandon Adams) breaks into their home as part of a failed heist, he stumbles into a twisted, sordid situation that he never could have predicted, including (potentially) incest, child abduction and a leather gimp suit that provides no shortage of talking points.
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Episode 43 – The People Under The Stairs (1991)
As the Camp marathon barrels on, Trace and Joe are joined by director Carter Smith to tackle our SECOND Wes Craven film in six weeks. The vibe is a little more reverent this time as the trio discusses the origin story of Craven’s twisted idea, why the gentrification storyline feels more relevant now than ever and how adept the late director is at balancing the film’s mix of tones.
It’s not all serious, though! Trace goes gaga for Wendy Robie’s Mommy, Carter and Joe talk leather looks and the trio disagrees on whether or not the relationship between the couple (brother/sister) is sexual. Plus: Where does People rank in Craven’s oeuvre?
In this week’s game: Update the tagline, poster or trailer for a 2019 audience.
Cross out The People Under The Stairs!
Coming up Wednesday: We return to our favorite year – 1999 – for the origin of Dark Castle and another pair of deliciously campy lead performances with a look at House on Haunted Hill!
– Joe & Trace
P.S. Be sure to check out all of our online articles right here, including September’s article on The Fan (1981) and October’s article on Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction.
P.P.S. As an added bonus, if you subscribe to our Patreon you can listen to our a minisode wrap up of our fave films from TIFF and Fantastic Fest 2019, full-length bonus episodes on In The Tall Grass and, arriving tomorrow, Zombieland 2: Double Tap.