The Stepfather (1987)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

"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.

A serial killer who is in love with the idea of a "perfect family" preys on the Maine family in 'The Stepfather'. The film starts with us seeing Terry Quinn's character changing his appearance and leaving his family home after brutally butchering them. We fast forward some time later to him now going by the name of Jerry Blake, he's got a wife named Susan and is the stepfather to our lead character Stephanie. Stephanie can't stand him and suspects there is more to him than meets the eye. She begins investigating into the murder he committed a year prior, and it isn't long before he catches on. Others begin questioning him as well, and his former brother-in-law from the family he killed is on the hunt for him. With the walls closing in, Jerry beings to crack... and begins to kill.'The Stepfather' is a brilliant late eighties thriller! I first came across it years back when TBS used to show a marathon of the Stepfather series on a regular basis. It's a basic story of a madman, but the performances by the actors involved takes it to another level. Terry Quinn is amazing as the psychotic Jerry Blake, just his mannerisms when he's having his meltdowns are spot on. Jill Schoelen, who became a late eighties scream queen, did a terrific job as the lead female character. And Shelley Hack put in a good performance as Stephanie's mom Susan, the woman he gave into the charms of Jerry. There are some death scenes, some pretty brutal, but the intensity comes from watching Jerry Blake crack under the pressure. Not knowing when he'll snap leaves viewers on the edge of their seats, and when he finally does snap towards the end of the film ... things get scary. Highly recommended.8/10

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.

Recently widowed Susan thinks she's met the perfect new husband in Jerry Blake. Unfortunately, Jerry has a dark side to him, and only his stepdaughter Stephanie suspects the horrible truth: that "Jerry" is actually a serial killer who married widowed or divorced women with kids, plays the happy stepfather for a little while, before something sets him off, prompting him to murder every single one of them and move on to a new family and town after changing his name and appearance. Can Stephanie convince those around her of Jerry's true nature before it's too late for her and her mother? Or will Jerry's cycle of insanity and murder continue? Much has been said of Terry O'Quinn's powerful performance as Jerry and I have little to add except that I agree he's excellent in the role. His violent mood swings are truly terrifying to behold and yet, when he's calm, he honestly seems like he's trying to be a loving father.