The Stairs movie review 2021

MOVIE TITLE: The Stairs

This movie only appears in theaters for ONE NIGHT ONLY on August 12, 2021.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 32 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

Led by acting veterans John Schneider (The Dukes of Hazzard) and Academy Award® nominee Kathleen Quinlan (Apollo 13), the chilling new film The Stairs will arrive in theaters for a one-night event on August 12 from Cinedigm and Fathom Events. The movie also features an all-star cast including Adam Korson (SurrealEstate, Imposters), Brent Bailey (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., NCIS) Stacey Oristano (Friday Night Lights, In Plain Sight), Tyra Colar (Cougar Town, The Mentalist), and festival winner Josh Crotty (Scandal, Shockwave).

In 1997, a young boy is out hunting with his grandfather (Schneider), when he stumbles upon a mysterious staircase deep in the forest. The subsequent disappearance leaves locals baffled as to the fate of the wayward pair. Twenty years later, a group of hikers set off on an ambitious trail, taking them deep into a secluded stretch of woods. Overcome with the beauty of their surroundings, they are blinded to a sinister presence lurking just beyond the trees. As the mountain terrain pulls them deeper, the group unknowingly stumbles upon a long-forgotten evil and finds themselves coming face to face with the thing that nightmares are made of.

Directed by Peter “Drago” Tiemann, The Stairs blends the sweeping natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest with the stomach-churning gore of Hollywood in this modern-day movie.

The Stairs has received great reception from horror festivals around the world and has been an Official Selection playing in 15 Film Festivals with 11 nominations and more than 22 wins. Including Best Picture at Haunted House FearFest, the Audience Award for Best Picture at Nevermore Film Festival and most recently, The Stairs won top honors at the combined 2020/2021 International Horror Hotel Film Festival including Best Director – Peter ‘Drago’ Tiemann, Best Cinematography – Ryan Purcell, Best Actor – Adam Korson, Best Sci-Fi Feature and Best Overall Film.

THINGS I LIKED:

There are some laughable jump-scares. This movie would be fun to watch with a group of friends on Halloween when it’s just fun to laugh and be scared.
There is some visual and spoken humor.
Beautiful scenery in the mountains.
The plot connects two different stories.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The timing of this movie is off by a couple of months. It would have been way better to premiere in October.
A lot of the acting isn’t very good.
Characters in horror movies always react in such dumb ways. It’s so annoying.
The monster is super lame and disappointing.
We really don’t get to know any of the characters, except for one calm scene where someone talks about another person. Because we don’t know the characters, we really don’t care who lives or dies, except no one wants to see an innocent little boy die.
Some really bad edits and transitions.
Very wooden dialogue.
Two of the creepy characters are seen a couple of times and then completely disappear from the story.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Profanity, F-bombs, and crude language. Even the kid in the movie says, “Language!” to remind one of the adults to clean up his potty mouth.
You see a man in a skimpy Speedo bathing suit. Guys, NO ONE likes to see those.
Lots of blood and gore and skeletons.
There’s a stupid and fairly graphic SXX scene.
A character consumes mushrooms to get high.