The Stepfather poster & wallpaper

Charles Lanyer, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack

All about a "family values" man Jerry Blake who marries widows and divorcées with children in search of the perfect family. As soon as his new family members show signs of being human and not robots w...( read more  read more... )ho will march unquestioningly to his tune, his dreams of domestic bliss begins to crumble, and he kills them. Then he alters his appearance, assumes an new identity, and skips to another town to begin the deadly ritual all over again. He marries Susan Maine, who sees him as the ideal surrogate father for her teenage daughter Stephanie, and is soon up to his old tricks when she proves too much of a troublesome teen to handle.

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68% liked it

1,744 ratings

R, 89 min.

Directed by: Joseph Ruben

Release Date: January 23, 1987

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DVD Release Date: February 9, 2010

Stats: 191 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (191)

  • StaisilD
    June 4, 2008
    StaisilD
    Jerry Blake (Terry O'Quinn) has the ideal life: A nice home, wife--Susan Maine (Shelley Hack), and stepdaughter--Stephanie (Jill Schoelen), all which is topped off with a terrier named Randy. Yet he should considering that Jerry has already dispatched several makeshift families...( read more) throughout his life, which he kills at a drop of a hat as soon as he receives the slightest indication that his newest family's moral fiber is weakening and that the familial bond might be dissipating. Westlake is a masterful writer who possesses a gift for creating and presenting suspense, who is only rivaled in his potency and consistently by the Master of Suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock. The Stepfather is equal parts character study, satire, and thriller as Westlake begins with one of the more readily disagreeable characters in society: the stepfather. The only aspect of The Stepfather which is arguably more harrowing than the writing or the acting is O'Quinn's transformations between families as he makes himself literally unrecognizable, the most fascinating of which is his second metamorphosis which we are allowed to witness in that it is so complete, absolute, and convincing that is causes shivers to course down the audience's spine. The manner in which the writer fleshes out his antagonist is so subtle that the viewer literally dreads upsetting Jerry yet, turning the psychological thumbscrews, once a sentiment is voiced which we anticipate will provoke the serial killer, Westlake permits Jerry to pause as he retains his composure, thus making the figure all the most dominating in his ability to control his urges, ergo allowing his malevolent actions to be all the more intense once they are acted upon. Even Jerry's lies are so thoroughly premeditated and comprehensive as to alleviate the least chance of error that the viewer needn't resort to suspending disbelief at any time during the film.
  • creepfreak
    May 24, 2008
    creepfreak
    This film is actually based on the true story of mass murderer John List...

    The Real Crime:

    "List killed his family - his wife, Helen, 45; his children, Patricia, 16, John, Jr., 15, and Frederick, 13, as well as his 84-year-old mother, Alma. He first shot his wife in the ba...( read more)ck of the head and his mother once in the left eye that morning while the children were at school. When Patricia and Frederick came back home, they were each murdered in the same way. John Jr., the only remaining son, was at his soccer game that afternoon. List casually made himself lunch and then drove to watch John Jr. at his soccer game. He brought his son home and then shot John Jr. once in the back of the head. John List saw John, Jr. twitch as if he was having a seizure, and shot his son again. It was later determined that John had shot his older son ten times. List dragged the bodies of his wife and children on sleeping bags into the ballroom of the house. He left his mother's body in her apartment in the attic and stated in a postscript in the letter to his pastor that "Mother is in the attic. She was too heavy to move." In the letter, List claimed he prayed over them before going on the run. The bodies were not discovered for a month, due to the Lists keeping to themselves; List had also left notes for the children's schools and part-time jobs stating that the family would be in North Carolina for several weeks, and had gone to the post office to stop the family's incoming mail.

    The case quickly became the second most infamous crime in New Jersey history, surpassed only by the legendary kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh Baby. A nationwide manhunt was launched. The police checked out hundreds of leads without results."

    Photobucket
    John List

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    John List and his family

    Hard to find DVD. Not officially released as of yet, but you can still find all region copies many places online, or even just the VHS. Try to get your hands on this movie, it's good stuff.

    An excellent thriller/horror from the 80's that relies mostly on character development and storyline to creep us out, other then just violence and gore. This one's another hidden gem from the 80's that definitely needs to be seen, especially if you're a true horror fan. Terry O'Quinn truly displays a horror show of creepy proportions through his demented character. Very well done and superbly acted.

    "Jerry Blake is a severely mentally disturbed man whose entire adult life revolves around his quest to have the perfect family. As a child, he was traumatized by being constantly exposed to idealized versions of the American family, while at the same time being forced to cope with his own, unsavory family. One day, when he realizes that his own family is turning into the family in which he grew up, and he faces becoming his own father, he murders his entire family, moves to another state, and marries a widow whose daughter distrusts Blake from the beginning and slowly begins to learn the truth about her stepfather's past."

    Typical 80's horror cheese in some parts, but never gets dull for a single moment, and not as cheesy as most horror films of it's time. Extremely entertaining movie and a must see!

    Highly recommended!


    Other Reviews:

    "This is a classic late 80's slasher/thriller and features many truly excellent things."
    - Slasherpool

    "Tight tight tight. This movie is a great nail biter and an interesting character study."
    - Arrow in the Head

    "An engrossing suspense thriller that refreshingly doesn't cheat the audience in terms of valid clues and plot twists."
    - Variety

    "It was perhaps the most scintillating of the new breed of psycho films to emerge during this time and one of the finest psycho-thrillers to emerge since indeed Alfred Hitchcock turned showering into a blood sport."
    - The SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review

    "...[Terry O'Quinn's character] is so complete, absolute, and convincing that is causes shivers to course down the audience's spine."
    - The Horror Review

    ""The Stepfather" is very effective in presenting that character."
    - Roger Ebert

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  • jim222001us
    November 10, 2009
    jim222001us
    Terry O'Quinn (Lost) stars as a psycho looking for the perfect family. When they prove to not be what he's looking for.....he murders them. A year after killing a family, he has moved on to a widow (Shelley Hack) and her troubled daughter Stephanie (Jill Schoelen).

    Stephan...( read more)ie doesn't like him from the start and thinks there's something wrong with him. The mother thinks he's perfect though of course. But when Stephanie proves to be what he's not looking for in a daughter, he's ready to kill and move on.

    Yes, the film is a B-Movie but O'Quinn and the hot Jill Schoelen make the film worth watching. O'Quinn perfectly balances his performance. By that I mean in one scene he's so good at being a nice guy that you forget that he's a total nut. Then of course there's scenes where he's believable as a mad man.

    I thought I had the movie pegged. I thought the family dog would be the first to go. But the movie is a little less predictable than I expected. The only problems I had with the film is that some of the violence is corny and Shelley Hack is awful. Other than that this film didn't have to be remade and the remake certainly isn't as acclaimed but that shouldn't be a surprise. I mean when does a remake ever get more acclaim than the original ??
  • jackamaku
    July 5, 2009
    jackamaku
    Sub par 80's thriller with Terry O'Quinn as a homicidal father longing for the "perfect" family. When things don't go perfectly, he gets upset and pokes people with sharp things. Fun to watch, mainly for O'Quinn, but not a good film. Awful score too.
  • John2223
    March 1, 2009
    John2223
    "The Stepfather" is a good scripted. directed and reasonably movie that delivers a believable performance from O'Quinn whot hides Blake's insanity behind a veil of well-intentioned good cheer and friendliness.
    If you have never seen this film, it is a worthwhile suspense/thrille...( read more)r/slasher from the 80´s.
  • ythelastman89
    November 18, 2009
    ythelastman89
    If it wasn't for Terry O'Quinn, this would've been horrible. He can literally make anything sound creepy. The other actors are just bland and the production value made it feel like a made for tv movie. The story is really interesting and creepy, but the way it was written and pla...( read more)yed out was sub-par. It just came off as another countless slasher, which is really sad. I wanted to like it, but in the end it was just unmemorable.
  • KESSLER72
    October 28, 2009
    KESSLER72
    The Stepfather is a movie i had in my hands to rent on VHS NUMEROUS times back in the mid 80's but for some reason never brought up to the counter. 20+yrs later the remake (big surprise) is upon us so i think it was high time to finally watch it. Well even though it views kind ...( read more)of like a direct to video movie, i enjoyed it fairly enough none the less. TERRY O'QIUNN is fucking excellent in this. Plus there is some welcome(totally unexpected) nudity near the end. I think Terry must have watched SHELLEY HACK in some CHARLIES ANGELS season 4 episodes right before he viciously backhanded the bitch with the telephone hook. And then tossed her ass down the stairs. A great moment for the masses!! STEPFATHER is totally worth the watch - just don't expect the world. I bet the reake will suck total ass!!
  • oscartorrado
    October 26, 2009
    oscartorrado
    The whole movie is a borefest, but Terry O´Quinn performances is too disturbing that made this film watchable.
  • divoz2000
    October 20, 2009
    divoz2000
    Figured i would sit down and watch this before i got a chance to watch the remake. From what i hear, this is alot better. You couldn't ask much more from the first 10 minutes of this film. The starting was eerie and gave you a good idea where it was going from there. The main cha...( read more)racter was so well played that even tho he was a serial killer, you couldn't help but to feel just a small spot of empathy for him.
  • ladollyvitaxo
    October 19, 2009
    ladollyvitaxo
    I did enjoy this better than the remake. (Shocker!) It was definitely creepier. It had one of the best beginnings I've ever seen in a horror movie.

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The Stepfather Trivia

  • In 1992s "Radio Flyer" starring Elijah Wood ... What name did he and his little brother call their abusive stepfather Because thats what he liked to be called?  Answer »
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