The Stepfather (1987)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jason S

  
  While it plays like a normal lower budget 80's thriller / horror flick the awesome Terry O'Quinn elevates the movie for me. He the perfect blend of loving husband and father mixed with psychopath. His ability to turn it off and on puts him above the rest of the cast. The… More
  While it plays like a normal lower budget 80's thriller / horror flick the awesome Terry O'Quinn elevates the movie for me. He the perfect blend of loving husband and father mixed with psychopath. His ability to turn it off and on puts him above the rest of the cast. The movie is also darker than I remember it being which also sets it apart from other films like it of the decade.

• AJ V

  
  This is a very realistic and scary horror movie, more of a horror drama, I'd say. Plus, I heard it was based on a true story, which makes sense because it's so realistic. It's a family's worst nightmare, if you love horror movies, you should see this.

• Jeff "

  
  Average horror film portraying yet another serial killer. The Stepfather is a suspenseful, creepy and compelling film. The Stepfather is a film that really goes at the heart of terror as Terry O'Quinn's character murders a fatherless family before finding new families to… More
  Average horror film portraying yet another serial killer. The Stepfather is a suspenseful, creepy and compelling film. The Stepfather is a film that really goes at the heart of terror as Terry O'Quinn's character murders a fatherless family before finding new families to prey. An average horror film, The Stepfather is a pretty good, thrilling film with a pretty good villain, also the film is tense and creepy.

• Wahida K

  
  A Brilliant Classic.

• Conner R

  
  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… More
  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 played 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.

• jd c

  
  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… More
  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 back 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." <a href="http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/?action=view¤t=List1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/List1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> John List <a href="http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/?action=view¤t=List2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/List2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> 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 <a href="http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/?action=view¤t=Stepfather.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/Stepfather.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Dean M

  
  Great thriller of a chiller of a stepfather who's a raving maniac.

• Deb S

  
  I thought Terry O'Quinn give a great performance was Jerry Blake and was convincingly creepy and frightening as an obsessive guy who wants the perfect family and will do anything to keep it that way.... anything. Jill Schoelen also gave a good performance as the clever daughter… More
  I thought Terry O'Quinn give a great performance was Jerry Blake and was convincingly creepy and frightening as an obsessive guy who wants the perfect family and will do anything to keep it that way.... anything. Jill Schoelen also gave a good performance as the clever daughter who won't let her mother die in the hands of her wicked stepfather. There are many memorable scenes including one where the demonic Blake bursts through a mirror and another involving the telephone.

• David S

  
  An 80's slasher that is surprisingly restrained until the end. O'Quinn is brilliant in the title role and if you're only familiar with him in 'Lost' then it's definitely worth checking out his performance here. The rest of the cast are so so and there are… More
  An 80's slasher that is surprisingly restrained until the end. O'Quinn is brilliant in the title role and if you're only familiar with him in 'Lost' then it's definitely worth checking out his performance here. The rest of the cast are so so and there are some silly plot issues along the way but whenever O'Quinn's on screen you forgive the film anything. Great creepy opening scene and violent murder in a show house. An enjoyable 80's movie.

• Erin C

  
  Slightly better than the first one, but the horrible music throughout was pretty ridiculous :P

• Jim W

  
  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).… More
  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). Stephanie 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 ??

• Grifty G

  
  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.

• John M

  
  "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… More
  "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/thriller/slasher from the 80´s.

• Anthony V

  
  Good 80's slasher fun.

Read all 14 featured audience ratings