User reviews

The Stepfather is an excellent movie, I especially liked the lead actor playing Jerry. His performance set the whole feel of the movie, with his outbursts of rage until he finally snaps. He is also very intelligent, when he snaps he sets up a entire new life in another town before he kills his family. The story is Jerry has become the stepfather in a family of a beautiful, young widow and a lovely daughter. Unfortunately, Jerry has a very strict definition of the perfect family and his new family just may not be making the cut. When his family starts disappointing him, he's is willing to kill for the American Dream. A great movie, not really a horror as such, but more of a psychological thriller that makes you think.

I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs.

Revisited it recently.

A psychotic serial killer and a master of disguise, Jerry Blake is obsessed with having an ideal family. He changes his identity and job and is always on the lookout for a new widow so that he can start a new family. Whenever any new family members do not comport with his expectations, he spirals into a spell of madness and attempts to brutally murder them. Inspite of being aware that his new stepdaughter doesn't like him, he tries hard to make it look like a complete happy family in front of neighbors. Blake is unaware that his last victim's/wife's brother is on his trail.

The brother of the last victim who is on the trail looks like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

Terry O'Quinn's acting is the highlight.

The direction n script is also well done.

The film moves at a good pace and it has ample amount of tension, suspense n creepiness. Am i the only one who found the movie a bit darkly comical too.

The scene where Jerry Blake puts one anonymous innocent moustachioed fella's photo in the envelope. I laughed out loud.

Jerry Blake's facial expressions aft seein his own photo in the mail.

The time Blake is caught off guard in the basement venting out some steam.

The way the doctor gives him a fake call as a prospective buyer jus to meet him.

I found all these darkly comical.

Jill Schoelen was 24 at the time, but she's playing a 16 year old in this movie and her nudity was a put off n uncalled for.

I haven't seen this film in years - I'm glad to get a chance to watch it again. It is a good horror film overall.

Terry O'Quinn is fantastic as Jerry Blake - his performance is amazing. He "MADE" this film - and made it scary. This one rates fairly high on my personal scare factor scale. The character Jerry Blake is one twisted, cunning, evil and vile man. This guy is definitely off his rocker - not a man you would ever want to be around.

The story is not all that bad, interesting, but this film is worth watching for Terry O'Quinn alone. The rest of the cast is good as well. Generally speaking, horror movie fans should like this film - it is creepy slasher thriller.

7/10

This movie was based on a true story. Back in the 1950's a man named John List murdered his wife and kids and married into another family with no father and he was eventually caught. This movie is on a similar basis. This has to one of the best films of the 1980's. Terry O'Quinn is absolutely brilliant as the psychotic stepfather, in other movies you wouldn't think of him as a psychopath like that. Shelley Hack was a bad choice for the wife, the role was unfit for her, in my opinion they should of gotten somebody more dramatic (you choose who), and Jill Schoelen was superb as the daughter, possibly her best film, she played the role as if she lived it before. Charles Lanyer as the psychiatrist was an absolute bore, he should have played the reporter. Stephen Shellen was good as the vengeful brother in law and finally Blu Mankuma as the cop (so what else is knew) seemed like he didn't care about the case. If you want to see a great thriller based on an actual story watch this. I give this 10 out of 10

A serial killer with multiple personalities who won't take no for an answer leads us through his life as a guy named Jerry Blake (played by a younger Terry O'Quinn with hair) the seemingly perfect husband and stepfather but we soon realize that he has a dark side that invariably wants to come out and commit mayhem.

It has a good supporting cast with Jerry's new wife Susan Maine played by Shelley Hack, and her daughter Stephanie played by Jill Schoelen. Jerry has just left his last family behind dead on the floor and he whistles his way into a new town meeting his new wife and stepdaughter as if he is the perfect husband and stepfather.

There is a detective on the case who has come up empty, and the deceased mother that Terry has just murdered has her brother searching for the killer of his sisters family. There are some tense moments in the film and I won't spoil the ending for anyone. Suffice to say it is worth a watch. I give it a respectable 6 out of 10 IMDB rating.

Terry O'Quinn is excellent here. He has a definite menacing presence, and his subdued behavior around people only heightens the shock of his raging outbursts. However, the mediocre script ruins what could have been a great film. As a character study of O'Quinn, this would have been chilling and effective. But it makes for a mediocre thriller. O'Quinn plays a psychotic man obsessed with perfection, and the ideal "American Dream". Inevitably, his family disappoints him, so he creates a new identity, kills them and moves on. The scenes with Jerry are strong and frightening, but the film becomes formulaic when we're introduced to Jim, who amazingly discovers a vital clue to his whereabouts in a few minutes of poking around. The police missed this? Too many dumb plot points and the predictable finale spoil it. O'Quinn's performance deserved a better film.

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

watch it and see why. Terry O'Quinn is excellent as "The Stepfather" - Jerry Blake; the nemesis of his newly acquired daughter, portrayed by Jill Schoelen. Shelley Hack plays the unsuspecting mom, who does not realize what O'Quinn is capable of.

This film came out in 1987, and it is amusing to see the references to family values and security- all quaintly defined in small town suburbia. Jerry Blake (O'Quinn) is the new realtor in town, a perfect neighbor and family man; but something is awry- Dr. Bondurant is killed and strange occurrences crop up.

If you have never seen this film, it is a worthwhile suspense/thriller; there are also some beautiful scenes of the Pacific Northwest- you will enjoy this film for Halloween.

This is one of the best thrillers to emerge from the 1980s. It has assured direction from Joseph Reuben. An excellent script by Donald E. Westlake.And an absolutely mesmerizing performance from Terry O'Quinn, who invests his character with enough repressed fury to make most screen psychos look like Mr Rogers.

The film starts out with a real sense of style as O'Quinn washes his bloody hands in a bathroom sink then proceeds to alter his appearance drastically before walking downstairs to his murdered family; its a startling and creepy beginning and the rest of the film is as stylish and well done. I think its biggest strength is the well-developed psychopathology of Terry O'Quinn's character. His behavior actually makes sense in terms of his madness. This is a refreshing change of pace from most films of this type, where the killers have zero motivation and are just plot-devices.

This movie is like the "American Psycho" but with a guy who loves the idea of having a perfect family. I went in not expecting much and was entertained. The main actor played a psychopath with perfection. It was like watching an 80s time capsule with the electronic music and hideous clothes. Overall entertaining!

Overall, this movie was pretty entertaining and Terry O'Quinn was fascinating to watch in the lead role. That's why I gave it five stars, because the content and bias deserved nothing.

The message in this movie - and I am not exaggerating, folks - is that someone who espouses old-fashioned family values is nuts: in this case, a thoroughly-demented serial killer! Yup, to Liberal Hollywood, decency equates to insanity while perversion equals good. Having watched tons of movies, I wasn't shocked at this message but I was shocked how blatant it was presented. I mean, have a little tact! What Hollywood won't do to slam "family values."

Supposedly, this movie was "based" on a guy who killed his prior family and then remarried before getting caught. However, be cautious when you see that word "based" because it might mean that only one percent of it involves the real facts of a case. You can bet the screenwriters added their PC bias.

Anyway, O'Quinn carries the film, not just because he has the most interesting role, but he just does a great job with it, which I can't say for some of the females in here.

Supporting actors-aside, this would have been a better movie had the filmmakers' agenda hadn't been so obvious. Don't kid yourself: this story wasn't about some serial killer, it was all about Liberals slamming people who advocate some family morals. It was all about getting in yet more Left Wing propaganda.

THE STEPFATHER begins with an introduction to the title character, Jerry Blake (Terry O'Quinn). Jerry is looking a bit disheveled, in a full beard. He's also covered in blood! Pictures on the walls of his home tell us that he has... well, he had a family. The scene in his living room makes it quite clear that Jerry has put an end to that, and is moving on. This all happens in the first three minutes!

Enter Susan (Shelly Hack), Jerry's new wife, and her daughter Stephanie (Jill Schoelen). While Susan can't believe how fortunate she is to have found such a perfect man as Jerry, Stephanie is having difficulty with the change. She also notices something a bit off about her new "dad". Is Stephanie just being insecure? What could possibly be wrong with a stepfather wanting the perfect family? Wellll, his last family certainly found that out!

Now, as time goes by, Jerry finds problems developing, and his dream might just be coming undone. Alas, his way of coping with such difficulties isn't very healthy. How long will it take for the nightmare to start? Meanwhile, Jim, Jerry's highly suspicious ex-brother in-law attempts to track Jerry down. He's got plans of his own for Jerry.

This is O'Quinn's signature role, and he plays it beautifully. Jerry is a semi-sympathetic role, and made me hope that his new situation would -somehow- work out, for everyone's sake. It is genuinely frightening to watch him mentally unravel, knowing full well what he's capable of doing. Ms. Hack plays the oblivious spouse, overlooking things, hoping it's all in her head. Ms. Schoelen is Jerry's foil, seeing through his false surface, knowing right off the bat that something just isn't right about this guy. When she gets a glimpse of him as he truly is, it confirms her prior fears. The question is, will anyone believe her in time?

This is a horror / suspense / thriller done to perfection. Jerry would be so proud...

The Stepfather Directed by Joseph Ruben. Written by Donald Westlake, Brian Garfield and Carolyn Lefcourt

Inspired by watching some old school Monstervision episodes on Youtube, my daughter said to me that we needed to watch The Stepfather. My thoughts exactly. Why the hell not?!!

Sometimes that is all it takes. I have only seen the remake of The Stepfather from 2009 which was awful and the sequel from director Jeff Burr which was more of the same. I thought it was more than time to watch the original. I have to say this is a very 80s movie when you watch it now. It is trying to evoke that smalltown 50s suburbia appearance which makes sense since the Stepfather of the title is looking to create that picturesque familial unit. The kind of perfection only seen on Leave It to Beaver.

In reality we know this is a fantasy. Human beings and human relationships simply do not work in this fashion. Once the fantasy starts to crack, that is when things get deadly. Jerry Blake wants everything to be in place. It just has to be to maintain the facade that his fragile psyche is holding onto.

The movie starts by showing you what kind of monster he really is. It shows the aftermath and by doing this every interaction he has with his family and others, it gives you that feeling of dread. Normally this sort of obvious display right there in the beginning would negatively shadow the proceedings. Not with The Stepfather.

I think a lot of that has to do with the superb performance that Terry O'Quinn gives. He has that fractured personality down pat and he has that effortlessly charming persona as well. He nails it. This movie would not work with anyone else in that role.

This is without a doubt worth a watch. It is a classic in this genre. Forget the remake and it's unnecessary PG-13 bullstuff. Forget even about the sequels. The original is the one worth seeing. I give this movie a B.

I loved the movie but I thought the musical background was like something from an Are You Afraid of the Dark episode

I would have considered this film if it were not for Terry. Thansk to his performance in LOST I've wanted to check out his other pieces of work and with Stepfather i was not disappointed. The opening scene in my opinion was fantastic, the film progresses with a typical 80s soundtrack (which ain't a bad thing) Terry plays a great part and does it really well, He manages to keep a certain creepiness to the part throughout. I don't want to give much away so ill cut this short although the story is self explanatory. I plan on buying the sequel and hope thats as good.

Either way certainly worth a watch, and if you're an Oquinn fan like myself, Just buy the DVD it will be cheap enough wherever you look.

What makes "The Stepfather" stand out is despite the absence of paranoia (the title character is revealed to be a killer in the opening few minutes), it remains quite effective with the plot line of the daughter trying to prove he is, and because he knows she knows, he attempts to conceal the truth.

Interestingly, the death of another character is quite sad, whereas similar films only have deaths for shock value.

The film also provides a subplot involving a relative of Jerry's previous family hunting him, although it raises the question of where relatives are I suppose, although that didn't detract from the movie.

Nice guy (Terry O'Quinn) gets married to lovely wife (Shelley Hack) and her rebellious daughter (Jill Schoelen). He wants his family to be like "The Brady Bunch" or "Father Knows Best". However when his family doesn't live up to his expectations he brutally kills them, changes his identity and moves on to find another unmarried woman with kids. And he's getting tired of Hack and Schoelen...

Exceptional thriller. O'Quinn gives a top-notch performance as the killer. He's helped by a very intricate script. Those two combined make you understand why he kills and plays with your emotions--I found myself actually liking the guy (for a while). There isn't a lot of violence in this, but when it appears it's very sudden, extremely bloody and shocking.

The only liabilities here are Hack and Schoelen--they're pretty bad in their roles. But O'Quinn and the script more than make up for them.

A sadly forgotten thriller from the late 80s. Well worth catching.

Talk about your domestic issues! Someone's been watching too many 1950's sitcoms, and woe betide anyone who doesn't fit into that image of perfection! After the death of her father one year ago, Stephanie Maine (Jill Schoelen) has been getting into a lot of trouble at school. Part of the reason she's like this is that she's creeped out by her all-too-perfect step-dad, Jerry Blake (Terry O'Quinn). Everyone, especially her mother (Shelley Hack), thinks he's the ideal family man, but Stephanie knows better.

Although there is no real humor in this film (there's a clever one liner, but it's not especially funny, nor is it meant to be), this is a satire of the "American Family Ideal." You know what I mean, a white picket fence, a mom and a dad, 2.5 kids, and a dog and a cat. No one really has this, and if they do, it's never the image that is portrayed in magazine ads. Unfortunately, no one told this to Jerry. He wants that so-called perfect family. At first, he seems like a godsend. But if that image is shaken, then he becomes the step-dad from hell.

The premise is sound, but it's the execution that's lacking. The pacing is erratic, and the set-up is non-existent. We never get a sense of who Jerry is. To be sure, we know he's a psychopath (this is, after all, a horror movie). But there's little showing of how he wants his family to be. A thriller needs this kind of thing to give us a sense of the psychopath we are dealing with.

Apart from O'Quinn, who is very good, the acting varies. Jill Schoelen has moments of believability, but others where her performance doesn't work. Likewise, Shelley Hack is never believable. And both of them are guilty of doing some really stupid things (then again, this is a horror movie). Charles Lanyer is good as Stephanie's therapist who goes above and beyond the call of duty (not in the way you'd think, though). However, Stephen Shellen is horrible as David Ogilvie, the man who's racing against time to find Jerry before he slaughters his next family.

Joseph Rueben's direction is plastic. There's nothing special about how this film looks or how the story is told. It's a point and shoot approach, and that leaves it up to the actors (specifically O'Quinn) to induce suspense. There are a few legitimate shocks in this film, but to be honest, there are better options out there.

This film may be hard to find, and there's a reason for it.

After reading the plot outline, some of you might roll your eyes and mutter, "Oh, great. A formulaic, plotless, cardboard-character, derivative flapdoodle." Not so. The plot, which gives life and depth to the characters, is so ingeniously written that most viewers will probably not be able to anticipate what's coming next. Breath-taking suspense, occasional pitch-black humor, a creepy, creepy villain, superb acting, and a roller coaster pace all add up to make one heck of a ride. Terry O'Quinn's character is probably the creepiest maniac to ever grace the screen since Anthony Perkins in Psycho. If you have even the slightest interest in horror films, I strongly urge you to rent this film.

In the Stepfather were told the story of a very particular kind of serial killer. It's the kind one might have found back in the town that Hitchcock set his Shadow of a Doubt, and his leading man as villain in Joseph Cotten as a man going around killing lonely old women is replaced here by Terry O'Quinn as a guy who simply takes up shop in families where the father's dead or gone and the wife needs a good fatherly presence to make the familial unit complete. So when Jerry Blake (formerly a Mr. Harrison or other, doesn't matter which really) married widowed Susan Blaine, her daughter (Jill Schoelen) isn't too happy. There's something just... off about him she can't quite pinpoint, which she also tells her therapist. But this doesn't stop her from acting out, and getting expelled from high school (in an almost pointless scene except to make her unsympathetic and set up a bland plot point), and it's something Jerry will just have to work a little harder at, to keep the family unit together.... or else!

There's nothing too special about the plot here, and only a few scenes (perhaps those meant to be really thrilling, or perhaps not) really stick out as being exciting or interesting. The rest are a series of either dull/blandly acted or just over-the-top moments where everyone aside from Terry O'Quinn does there best to act but, gosh-darnit, none of them can. Maybe this has less to do with the screenwriter, late novelist Donald E. Westlake, and more to do with the director Joseph Ruben, who would a few years later make The Good Son, another contrived 'I'm-just-a-normal-face' killer movie. I imagine if you turned it on in a scene with, say, the mother and the daughter talking, or even that intrepid young man who is out to avenge his sister and has the funny last name and fast car, you might not think to keep watching past five minutes.

Ruben's only real invention here to make things really watchable, and sometimes fantastic, is the casting of O'Quinn. For those who know him just from Lost as Locke (and you know who you are, such as myself), it's a treat and a half - he plays it just right in the calm 'normal' scenes, and then goes to town in taking this guy 'Jerry Blake' into another dimension of nuts. Just a simple facial expression after Jerry freaks out about his step-daughter's kiss with another boy is priceless. So if you must watch the movie watch it for him, or, perhaps, for the kind of guilty pleasure one has when watching, to give an equivalent idea of competent-crap of this year, Obsessed (not to be confused with the upcoming remake).