In the horror genre there’s arguably no director as beloved as Wes Craven. The filmmaker is best known for the slasher classics A Nightmare On Elm Street and Scream, but Craven has a vast catalog of hidden horror gems. This includes his 1991 horror black comedy The People Under the Stairs. Now, thanks to Scream Factory, the film is coming to 4K Blu-ray in April.
At the time of its release, The People Under the Stairs was a modern take on the creepy house in a neighborhood that no kid would dare to cross. It followed a young boy played by Brandon Quintin Adams who breaks into his family’s greedy landlord’s house, but he gets more than he bargains for when he finds their landlord is holding children hostage under the stairs. The film, like Scream, was very much ahead of its time as it acted as a satirical commentary on America’s broken class system and gentrification.
Even though it’s been eight years since Craven passed away in 2015, his films have been more popular than ever. Of course, the Scream franchise has been getting a lot of love because of the new films and the recent 4K releases of the first two installments in that meta slasher franchise, but Craven was more than just Ghostface. His horror library is filled with so many frightening marvels that are finally getting their due. Just last year Cursed came to Blu-ray for the first time and People Under the Stairs now joins Red Eye as another Craven film getting the 4K treatment in 2023.
What to Expect From the 4K UHD Release
While Scream and Elm Street are the director’s bona fide classics, People Under the Stairs features the same fierce wit and intense atmosphere that Craven was known for. On top of that, the film included a stellar cast of Evervett McGill, Wendy Robie, A.J. Langer, Ving Rhames, and Sean Whalen. This new 4K addition will come with all the same special features that appeared on Scream Factory’s original Blu-ray release of the film. This includes two audio commentaries featuring Craven, Adams, Langer, Whalen and Yan Birch, behind-the-scenes footage, and a Making-Of featurette. The cover art for the 4K release also bares the film’s classic poster of an eerie skull hovering over a dark neighborhood.
The People Under the Stairs is coming to 4K on April 25, 2023, and will be $34.99. You can pre-order the film now on Scream Factory’s website. The trailer for People Under the Stairs can be seen down below.