Feature Ryan Lambie 30 Oct 2013 - 07:02

An unusual film from Wes Craven, The People Under The Stairs still contains the his fascination with horror in suburbia, Ryan writes...

In the late 60s and early 70s, horror cinema began to put aside the castles and capes of the past. Vampiric noblemen like Count Dracula were being replaced by new monsters like Mark Lewis, the serial killer photographer in Peeping Tom, and murderous motelier Norman Bates in Psycho.

Kicking and screaming, horror was moving into the present - into contemporary cities and respectable suburbs. In literature, authors such as Ira Levin, Richard Matheson and Stephen King were at the forefront of this new movement, with their work reinventing stories of the spectral, satanic and paranormal for a new age.

Wes Craven was one of a young generation of filmmakers who brought about a similar change in 70s cinema. Along with George A Romero,...