10 Best Wes Craven Films

8. The People Under The Stairs

There are plenty of 'don't go in the house' films, but few are as skin-crawlingly creepy as Craven's The People Under the Stairs, the story of an incestuous/sadomasochistic brother and sister (known simply as 'man' and 'woman') who keep children looked in their basement and do horrible, unspeakable things. The concept is weird enough, but it's helped immeasurably the performances of Everett McGill and Wendy Robie, who are chillingly believable in their roles (they'd had experience playing a weird couple on David Lynch's Twin Peaks TV series). Craven was inspired to write the film after reading a similar real-life story. One of the oddest films in Craven's back-catalogue, The People Under the Stairs is darkly comic, eclectic and builds to a balls-to-the-wall finale to match any other eighties horror film.