Stepfather 2 (1989)

Overrated and overhyped

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The Stepfather was a surprisingly classy thriller stuck at the end of the 80's slasher glut. Thanks to a smart script and a phenomenal performance from Terry O'Quinn, The Stepfather ended up becoming a cult classic.Even though it seemed as if O'Quinn's Jerry Blake was killed off at the end of the first film, the magic of the movies brings him back for yet another round of slashings in the sake of the American Dream. Jerry's now stuck in a mental hospital. He, of course, escapes and forms a new identity - this time, a psychiatrist(named Gene) specializing in suburban women, which gives him a nice group of gals to choose from for his next dream wife.Unfortunately for Carol (the beautiful Meg Foster), Jerry fixates on her and her son (Jonathan Brandis) and wants them to become his new family. Jerry's soon up to his own tricks, dispatching of anyone that gets in his way.This is a movie that doesn't need to exist, so it's to director Jeff Burr's credit that he's able to make it seem as if this movie has a right for being here. Bringing Terry O'Quinn back is a huge plus and he's pitch perfect here. Joining him are genre faves Meg Foster and Caroline Williams who are equally game and ground a rather ridiculous story in reality. There's a nice dose of playful, dark humor throughout and the murder set pieces will please gore fiends without turning off those in the mood for more traditional thriller stylings.Stepfather II might not reinvent the genre, but it's a worthy and fun sequel.

I am sure Danny Thomas never thought that "Make Room for Daddy" would be the tag line in a film like this.Terry O'Quinn (John Locke from "Lost") is a slasher/serial killer in a mental hospital. He escapes, and tries to start a normal life.But, that old slasher brain can't handle stress, and his romance with Meg Foster ends badly for him.Not a whole lot of slasher action. Mostly just a small town romance story with a slasher angle that plays in a few times.I really don't know how it could have been done differently, but it just didn't have that sparkle.

"The Stepfather 2" is a slightly better sequel effort, even though it's still flawed.**SPOILERS**In a psychiatric hospital, Gene Clifford, (Terry O'Quinn) is in rehab for his past crimes, and manages to escape during a trick. Hiding in California, he takes a job as a family therapist and has a group session where he meets Carol Grayland, (Meg Foster) a single mom. When they begin to develop a friendship, along with her son Todd, (Jonathan Brandis) her friend Matty Crimmins, (Caroline Williams) decides to get involved, not completely trusting him. Able to manipulate her to believe him to marry her, which forces her into action and is able to uncover his secret. Confronted with his real plan of marrying to preserve his idea of the perfect, he goes berserk to keep it that way.The Good News: This one is a rather decent sequel. The fact that this one still has the creepy motive and back-story for the main villain is a good selling point. It still feels rather creepy and unsettling due to a rather realistic feeling that happens to come from the film. From all the alternative actions taken to ensure that, to the way that it makes the activities he does both normal-seeming and yet really creepy at the same time. That is a fun quality and it adds to the overall tone of the film. This one's best features are it's few horror moments on display. These include the few slashing moments beforehand, which is the confrontation in the house as well as the kitchen brawl later in the film. Both of these are great and a lot of fun, and mixed together with the impressive impound lot scene that has a few comedic moments in it, and these are all rather fun. The wedding, though, is all kinds of fun. From the manic stalking to the constant brawling to it's few blood-splattering moments to the sheer joy at how it ends, this is all considered into a really great sequence. These here are all that work for the film.The Bad News: This one here is really disappointing for several reasons, and most of it is due to the fact that it seems to be classified as a slasher rather than a thriller like the first one, which it really should be. There's nothing in here that is characteristic of a slasher film, since the body count is barely there, the few kills on display are barely worth talking about other than the ones mentioned before, and it never once tries to elicit a feeling of constant terror from others before the stalking at the finale. This one never tries to become a slasher, and instead of being called a thriller, which is based around the film's central gimmick and theme, this one tries to play with that rather than going for straight-out horror and all that's left is a feeling of boredom from those who expect a slasher. As a thriller, it isn't that bad, but it's still left with the fact that nothing even happens, and all that occurs before the finale is the attempts to hide the truth from those searching into the past, and these are rarely interesting. That makes this feel even more boring to those expecting a slasher, but when these events aren't that good to begin with, it lowers it to the other fans, leaving this one feeling down even more. Even worse the film plays up all the black comedy one-liners that were requisite for any mass killer anti-hero in a sequel franchise during the late 80s, with the one-liners coming in at very obvious and badly timed moments, and are just plain distracting and rarely funny. This is better than it should be, but still falls a little short.The Final Verdict: With one of the main problems that plagued the first one while also fixing one of it's key ones, this one comes out in the end slightly better. Interesting for those who enjoy the psycho-thriller genre, while slasher fans should feel a little better about it over the first one and should give it a chance.Rated R: Violence, Language and a mild sex scene

~Spoiler~ Sequel king, Jeff Burr, takes over the reigns for The Stepfather 2. The original stepfather is an underrated horror/thriller thanks in all parts to a terrific performance by Terry O'Quinn. Stepfather 2 is almost the exact same movie, but with all the surprises gone. It also lacks the believability of the first movie. First off, we're asked to believe that the Stepfather survived the events of the last film's finale. Stabbed through the chest and shot twice...right. Anyway, he now resides in an asylum where a psychiatrist is trying to unravel his thought process and motivations. This is the most interesting area of the movie. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long. He's too soon back in the suburbs leading a women's support group and looking for potential wives. Did any of these women bother to check his credentials? We're also asked to believe that the Stepfather is a master criminal, yet does the DUMBEST things to get himself into trouble. The supporting cast around O'Quinn is as good as the original. This time we have Meg Foster as the new target and Jonathan Brandis is playing her son. Caroline Williams (Stretch from Texas Chainsaw 2) is quite good as the nosey neighbor. If you enjoyed The Stepfather and want to see more of the character, this is for you. However, I implore you not to waste your time with Part 3.