An absolute waste of money

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

"The Stepfather" is one of the better thrillers to come out of the 1980s: a very pointed look at one very old fashioned individuals' commitment to traditional values, or to put it another way, his intense, ongoing search for perfection. Perfection that, of course, we know can never really be obtained."Jerry Blake" (character actor Terry O'Quinn, in his legendary first starring role) is a mass murderer of families. He selects widows with children, ingratiates himself to the woman, and marries into the family. Desperately seeking an ideal American family, he inevitably erupts into violence whenever the family disappoints him. And then on he moves to another brood, and another fabricated life.O'Quinns' wonderful performance, and the very resonant theme, help to make this a solid diversion. It's based on the real life story of John List, who'd murdered his whole family, and set himself up with a new identity in a new town. He wasn't caught until 'America's Most Wanted' came along in the late 1980s and profiled him. (As a matter of fact, his arrest coincided with the release of this films' first sequel.) The screen story is credited to authors Carolyn Lefcourt, Brian Garfield, and Donald E. Westlake, with Westlake writing the screenplay.Efficiently directed by Joseph Ruben, this works towards a rather conventional finale, but until then is quite gripping. The lovely Jill Schoelen is appealing as the suspicious stepdaughter Stephanie, while Shelley Hack is adequate as Susan, the unsuspecting new woman in Jerry's life. Charles Lanyer, as kindly psychiatrist Dr. Bondurant, and Stephen Shellen, as Jim Ogilvie, are fine in support.The opening sequence is nothing short of chilling, especially considering how calmly O'Quinn plays it. There is a fair amount of gore here, as well as some T & A supplied by Ms. Schoelen. The "Who am I here?" moment has become fairly iconic.O'Quinn reprised his role for the first sequel, but for the third movie, it was recast with Robert Wightman.Nine out of 10.

No need to recap the plot. Watching the movie is like sitting on a block of ice. It's that chilling. Jerry may look like a friendly neighborhood salesman, what with the winning smile and calm demeanor. Plus, his regard for home and family is almost a sacred observance. At the same time, he talks one heckuva good line. But inside all the candy coating beats the icy heart of a true psychopath.O'Quinn's terrific as Jerry Blake, stepfather extraordinaire. His sudden transitions from Jekyll to Hyde are perfectly executed, and scary as heck. And pity poor stepdaughter Stephanie (Shoelen); she senses something behind his calm demeanor but really has no idea. Then there's wife Susan (Hack) who's just happy having a complete family again; plus, a guy who's a good lover as the movie shrewdly shows.For nutcase Jerry, however, the family is a sacred ideal that allows no shortcomings. In short, it's not the usual ideal we adjust to real people. Instead, in Jerry's bloody hands, it's an impossible standard for any mortal wife or kids. And woe betide those who don't live up to that impossible ideal. Jerry's like a guy in search of a unicorn, but finding only ordinary horses, he kills them, causing the search to go endlessly on.The movie's violence is so sudden it's really jarring. Kudos to director Ruben who knows how to get the most out of Jerry's demonic character. Sure, the premise takes the all-American notion of family and carries it to a psychopathic extreme. Just watch Jerry lovingly raise the model house (bird-house) above everyone's head. It's a perfect visual metaphor for his obsession. And when it comes crashing down, we know we're back to reality. My only complaint is with the overdrawn climax, where people don't die in mortal fashion. Then again, with Jerry that may be appropriate.Anyhow, it's no wonder the 90-minutes has become a cult favorite. Come to think of it, I think I'll go sit in the warm sun for a while.

The Stepfather is directed by Joseph Ruben and collectively written by Carolyn Lefcourt, Brian Garfield and Donald E. Westlake. It stars Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack, Stephen Shellen and Charles Lanyer. Music is by Patrick Moraz and cinematography by John W. Lindley.Why can't they leave me alone? Joseph Ruben's film is firmly ensconced in the land of B horror cultdom, and rightly so. Some horror fans may be disappointed at the lack of brutal killings actually shown on screen, but looking beyond that expectation there beats the heart of a cynical picture. The American Dream shed of its bloody veneer, the film plants an ambiguous serial killer in the normalcy of the family life that he so craves, that is until his vision of Americana family life is not met and his dark half comes to the fore.It's a cunning picture, keeping the killer's back story shaded in grey, and Ruben smartly keeps tension simmering away to keep viewers anxiously waiting for the stepfather to crack. O'Quinn is excellent as damaged dad, intense, measured and charmingly normal when required, and then not over the top when he cracks and rants. Around him he is backed by strong turns from Schoelen, Hack and Lanyer, while Ruben's direction and Lindley's colour photography bring a credible feeling to the plot.A running sub-plot involving Shellen's grieving brother doing detective work feels a bit superfluous at times, while a nude shower scene with Schoelen is totally unnecessary. Don't get me wrong, Schoelen has a lovely body and is a very pretty girl, the actress aged 24 at the time, but she's playing a 16 year old! It just comes off as pointless titillation in a film that didn't need such tricks. Small irritants aside, The Stepfather is intelligent horror and still holding up now in this age of torture and hackville sub-genres. 7.5/10

As soon as the movie started, I hoped it would not be as predictable as I feared it was going to be. Unfortunately, it was. It was like an old mold was used, as the whole storyline never surprised or added something new. Well, it saves me from writing a long review I guess.Though somehow still slightly entertaining (hence my 4 points instead of lower), the movie didn't only lack of originality, but also of any sort of depth. Never do we get to know Jerry better, nor do we get to know the family better. There's no real character development, no real deep emotions, just nothing that makes it stand out. Some people describe it as a satire, which it could have been, if only there would have been more sharpness to it. Instead, I think I only smiled once, but it was more like a slight curl of my lips than a real smile. So to keep it short as promised, I did sit through the 90 minutes and was entertained enough not to search for an other unseen movie in my collection, but that's about it. If you do not mind a predictable thriller, and you like the lack of any real tension, well it might just be something for you. If you are used to movies that keep you on the edge of your seat, skip this one.