Nazz86
Worth a watch I'd say, good plot, not stupidly over the top, and pretty realistic.
Sam Panico
Henry Morrison (Terry O'Quinn, TV's Lost, Silver Bullet) is introduced to us as he washes away the blood from killing his family, changes his appearance and leaves them - and his past life - behind. He throws all of the objects of his past life into the ocean and disappears for a year, resurfacing as a real estate agent named Jerry Blake.Now, he has a new wife, Susan Maine (Shelley Hack from TV's Charlie's Angels) and a rough relationship with his sixteen-year-old stepdaughter, Stephanie (Jill Schoelen from Popcorn). His biggest worry, though, is Jim Ogilvie, a wannabe detective and his former brother-in-law.As Henry/Jerry discovers an article from the newspaper about the death of his old family, he flips out at a neighborhood barbecue and flips out in his workshop. Unbeknownst to our hero, such as he is, his stepdaughter is listening to the entire episode.She goes to her therapist, Dr. Bondurant, who tries to get Henry/Jerry to talk about the past. It doesn't go too well, to say the least, and the doctor is murdered. That death ends up bonding stepfather and stepdaughter, believe it or not. That is - until he catches her making out with her boyfriend Paul.The stepfather deals with things the only way he knows how. He starts setting up another identity and gets ready to kill this family. This leads to him starting to confuse his many identities and smashing his new wife in the face with a telephone.Somehow, despite being shot twice and stabbed in the heart, Henry/Jerry survives and returns for not one, but to sequels. Spoiler warning: At least one of those will be up on this site later on today.Loosely based on the life of John List, this movie rises above simple slasher to cult classic based upon the acting skills of O'Quinn, who can go from tender and nice to pure mania in the very same line of dialogue. Can anyone make working on birdhouses seem so evil? I mean, all he's trying to do is find the perfect American family!
dougdoepke
No need to recap the plot. Watching the movie is like sitting on a block of ice. It's that chilling. Jerry may look like a friendly neighborhood salesman, what with the winning smile and calm demeanor. Plus, his regard for home and family is almost a sacred observance. At the same time, he talks one heckuva good line. But inside all the candy coating beats the icy heart of a true psychopath.O'Quinn's terrific as Jerry Blake, stepfather extraordinaire. His sudden transitions from Jekyll to Hyde are perfectly executed, and scary as heck. And pity poor stepdaughter Stephanie (Shoelen); she senses something behind his calm demeanor but really has no idea. Then there's wife Susan (Hack) who's just happy having a complete family again; plus, a guy who's a good lover as the movie shrewdly shows.For nutcase Jerry, however, the family is a sacred ideal that allows no shortcomings. In short, it's not the usual ideal we adjust to real people. Instead, in Jerry's bloody hands, it's an impossible standard for any mortal wife or kids. And woe betide those who don't live up to that impossible ideal. Jerry's like a guy in search of a unicorn, but finding only ordinary horses, he kills them, causing the search to go endlessly on.The movie's violence is so sudden it's really jarring. Kudos to director Ruben who knows how to get the most out of Jerry's demonic character. Sure, the premise takes the all-American notion of family and carries it to a psychopathic extreme. Just watch Jerry lovingly raise the model house (bird-house) above everyone's head. It's a perfect visual metaphor for his obsession. And when it comes crashing down, we know we're back to reality. My only complaint is with the overdrawn climax, where people don't die in mortal fashion. Then again, with Jerry that may be appropriate.Anyhow, it's no wonder the 90-minutes has become a cult favorite. Come to think of it, I think I'll go sit in the warm sun for a while.
Toronto85
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
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