The People Under the Stairs
Fuck, this blind-sided me with how amazing it was. Just about <PERSON>'s most acidic screenplay, it's a harsh critique of extreme capital hoarding, the necessity of allyship, and the dread of an armed and paranoid suburbia. So much of this is drenched in an air of terror and a feeling of being helplessly trapped, whether it's behind the iron bars of a labyrinthine house or the crushing weight of a system that rewards those driven by cruelty and a faceless sense of malice.
The climax is beyond cathartic after such an oppressive journey, where the foundations of this cruelty burst forth to swallow up its creators. The fact that this is supported by 12-year old <PERSON> in the leading role is so special. 295