Horror Movie Review: The Stairs (2021)

Coming from director Peter ‘Drago’ Tiemann, who co-wrote the story with Jason L Lowe, The Stairs seems to have an exciting concept with strong, mysterious vibes, but in the end, fails to deliver a satisfying experience.

Eleven-year-old Jesse (Thomas Wethington) and his grandfather Jean (John Schneider) are out hunting in the woods when the boy spies something. Wandering away from his grandfather, who is tracking a wounded deer, the boy finds something that should be impossible, a set of stairs in a small clearing.

What is it? Why is it there? Who or what could have put it there?

Well, the answer will come much later, kind of, but for now, something comes out of a door around the back of the staircase and both Jesse and Jean are dragged into the depths. Their disappearance is a mystery for everyone, eventually falling into legend, as the movie jumps twenty years forward in time.

Nick (Adam Korson) and his friends are going on a hike, a hike into the same woods where Jesse and Jean disappeared. Of course, it’s inevitable that they will come across the stairs, but what is unexpected, is how they first start to experience strange events, including seeing ghosts. This might have something to do with the ‘Blood Moon’, but The Stairs really doesn’t make any of this clear.

Obviously, the group are freaked out, but they also must contend with things in the woods hunting them too. Then, they find the stairs…

Confusing right? Which is The Stairs in a nutshell. A hodgepodge of different ideas, jammed together in confusing fashion, and poorly explained. While credit can be given for the imagination used, especially with some of the visuals, none of it matters when little of it makes sense. What are the ghosts? Why is there a maggot baby? What are the creatures in the woods? What significance does the stairs actually hold? Why does time stop in the lower chamber of the stairs? Questions after questions that never get answered.

Frustratingly too, the actual stairs seem redundant to the plot. The actual horror exists below them, through a door around the back. So, why bother using stairs at all, aside from the trippy look of a set of stairs existing in a clearing in the woods? Hilariously, this story is based on supposed true reports of hikers finding stairways in the middle of the woods.

So, annoying and confusing elements aside, what is good about The Stairs? Well, it has some really strong effects, practical effects, and those involved certainly had some imagination when it came to creating their monsters. The cast are all believable in their roles and there are some tense set-pieces that lead to some of the more horror-heavy moments. The final section of the movie also has a strong creep factor.

If only all of this was part of a story that didn’t frustrate so much. Then The Stairs would be remembered as one hell of a great movie.