Customer Reviews

The Stepfather [VHS]

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Stepfather 2 & 3 are on DVD nad yet the original still is not. What kind of sense does that make? The late 80's/early 90's gave us a whole series of what I call "the ____ from hell" type of movie. Fatal Attraction gave us the affair from hell, Pacific Heights gave us the tenant from hell, and The Hand that Rocked the Cradle gave us the nanny from hell. As the title suggests, "Stepfather" was the stepfather from hell starring Terry O' Quinn, one of my favorite character actors.

Quinn is Jerry Blake...or maybe he isn't. Blake is a homicidal maniac looking for the perfect family in the perfect neighborhood. all he wants is the 1950's style Americana life with a nice white picket fence, a family that has dinner together and plays together. He marries Susan (Shelly Hack) who has a teenage daughter Stephanie (Jill Schoelen). Stephanie begins to suspect something isn't quite right about Jerry and begins checking him out. This infuriates Jerry who finds her rebellious leading to numerous run-ins. Jerry then takes on another alias and begins scouting for a new family. Meanwhile a member of the last family that Jerry killed is on his trail looking to kill him before Jerry can kill another family.

Terry O' Quinn is fantastic in his role moving from a Mr. Brady/Father Knows Best dad to a raging maniac at the drop of a hat. When everything goes well, Jerry is the loving father and husband everyone would want, but when things don't live up to his expectations...well...Look out! A very underrated slasher that is as much psychological horror as it is slasher film. Hopefully this will be on DVD soon. Great film!

Loved it! Awesome movie. Only Terry O'Quinn can pull off being a psycho in this great horror flick. My only gripe is why is this movie not on dvd? I have stepfather 2 on dvd also a great horror movie! I recommend stepfather and stepfather 2.Was not pleased with stepfather 3 because Terry is not in it.

To the reviewer who wrote "it's worth watching just to see Shelley Hack get hit with a telephone".... LOL!

This is an underappreciated and underseen horror gem from 1987. Low on budget, high on tension. A shrewd piece of acting by Terry O'Quinn. Director Joseph Ruben has made several good and a few great films, and this one ranks as his best, IMHO.

Can't believe with all the hoopla surrounding the TV show "Lost" that this film with a "Lost" star in it hasn't been rushed out on DVD. Legal/rights/ownership obstacles, perhaps? Well for goodness sakes smooth those obstacles out and deliver us this DVD. My VHS copy won't look good too much longer.

Let me begin by saying Terry O'Quinn ("Locke" on LOST) is brilliant in both this film and it's sequel. The story, dialog and the fact that he's so nutty it's almost more funny than scary. And it's worth it just to see Shelley Hack get hit with a telephone. RENT IT FOR Halloween, along with EVIL DEAD 2. Get in the ZONE and chill...

Nearly twenty years after its initial release, Joseph Ruben's The Stepfather remains one of the best horror films of the 1980s. The Stepfather is based on the true story of Joseph List, a suburban accountant who was described as the ideal neighbor and was apparently just an all-around great guy as long as you didn't hold the weekend when he happened to brutally murder his entire family against him. The movie's version of List is blandly friendly real estate agent, Jerry Blake. As played by Terry O'Quinn, Jerry is a rather likeable sort -- the type of suburban dad who makes Ward Cleaver look like a degenerate. He's the type of guy who rarely loses his temper in public, never says anything aloud that could be found offensive, and who is always ready to great the world with a smile.

Unfortunately, Jerry has one, big problem. He expects the rest of the world to be as perfect as he sees himself as being and when the world fails to live up to that ideal, he has a tendency to go on a killing rampage. Presumably, that's why he kills his first family shortly before the film's opening credits. The rest of the movie follows Jerry as he moved to yet another wholesome suburban street and romances single mom Shelly Hack. Hack is charmed by the polite, responsible man who speaks so sincerely about how much he loves family. Her rebellious teenage daughter (Jill Schoelen) is a little less charmed. In fact, she knows something is off about Jerry from the beginning and, despite Jerry's best attempts to turn her life into an old Saturday Evening Post cover, she remains convinced that there's something not quite right about her stepdad. The more she rebels, the closer Jerry comes to snapping once again.

The Stepfather is often referred to as a slasher film and it does have many things in common with that much maligned genre -- Jerry is a remorseless, at times unstoppable killer and the main target of his wrath is a teenager. However, what sets the Stepfather apart from the Friday the 13ths of the world is Terry O'Quinn. As Jerry, O'Quinn creates one of cinema's most terrifying psychos and it is his performance that gives the film its haunting power. O'Quinn wisely underplays Jerry's madness and, in scenes where he's not killing, actually makes this killer a sympathetic figure. Indeed, the film's most terrifying moments come not when Jerry starts killing but instead during the scenes where a frustrated Jerry goes down to his pristine basement and starts muttering to himself about how nobody understands the sacrifices that he makes to keep everyone happy. It is in these scenes that we see truly see the sociopathic monster lurking so closely under the surface of Blake's friendly smile and the scenes are all the more disturbing because many viewers will probably be reminded of times when they had similar thoughts. Mention should also be made of Schoelen who doesn't play the heroine as a typical idealized horror film teen but instead reveals that her character, at times, can be a spoiled, sullen brat -- in other words, a typical teenager who isn't perfect but doesn't deserve to be murdered either. Indeed, Jill Schoelen's character is probably the most believable and sympathetic horror film heroine since Jamie Lee Curtis in the original Halloween.

The film is well directed by genre master Joseph Ruben who wisely emphasizes the blandness of his suburban setting and keeps the plot moving at a good pace. The script, by novelist Donald Westlake (who, writing as Richard Stark, created Parker, another strangely sympathetic monster) is full of nicely quirky moments and avoids most horror film cliches. Ignore the amazingly unworthy sequels and instead, watch the Stepfather and see just how brilliant the horror genre can be.

Hands down, this is one of the most finely crafted horror/suspense movies of all time. Campy? Yes, but so insanely wonderful at the same time. I would gladly pay $50 for a copy of this movie on DVD. I have to copies of it on VHS (just in case). Seriously, if you are a fan of Terry O'Quinn or the horror/suspense genre, do yourself a favor and see this movie.

miked

www.sinikil.com

First off...I am an avid,,,and extremely critical... suspense/thriller movie buff who revels in being viscerally scared out-of-his wits...without the director using buckets of blood or idiotic/sophmoric situations to accomplish this feat. The Stepfather (fiendishly and poignantly portrayed by Terry O'Quinn) will send your nerves a-jangle.

The plot here is simplistic...a very, very disturbed man is in search of the perfect family (ala ) The Brady Bunch or Father Knows Best...the problem is...is TRY telling Jerry that life isn't a idealistic cornball sitcom...see what the results are...

Brilliantly directed by Joseph Rubens (Sleeping with the Enemy/The Good Son)... the Stepfather will take you on a haunting psychological rollercoaster ride filled with jumps, jolts, heart thumping and unconscious nail biting.

The opening sequence...devoid of any dialogue and visually unnerving ...was so disturbing to one of my friends...that he wanted to take a 'raincheck' on watching the rest!

Shelley Hack ...and especially Jill Schoelen...as the respective newly found wife and daughter...turn in engaging performances. Not to mention Hans Zimmer's creep-o-rama score...filled with violinists and cellists on mesculine and caffeine...

If your genre is suspense...good suspense...if you liked Brian DePalma's Dressed to Kill & Body Double...if you liked Hitchcock's Psycho & The Birds...if you enjoyed Robert Harmon's The Hitcher or Curtis Hanson's The Hand that Rocks the Cradle...not to mention Carpenter's Halloween...then sit back and enjoy...!

Oh...by the way...do you really want to know what happens to the family's puppy...or what happens when daddy goes down to the cellar to retrieve some ice cream...or what your stepfather's reaction may be when he matter-of-factly retrieves your mail...or what a simple phone receiver can also be used for...and...just out of curiosity... do you have to hide the cutlery in your house? Do you, pumpkin?

The Stepfather is in my opinion one of the classic horror or slasher films out there in that genere.

This has been an all time favourite of mine and my family for years.

Terry O'Quinn is amazing and chilling as Jerry Blake.
Jill Schoelen has always been memorable to me as Stephanie, as well as Shelley Hack and Stephen Shellen in this movie.

To me, Terry was so good in this movie that The Stepfather is one of the great horror movie classic icons.

This is a must see!!!!

This creepy and wonderfully put together chiller from 1987, never got the credit or recognition it deserved. Thankfully, it found new life on video and cable. Great character actor Terry 'O' Quinn, plays a psychotic madman who is determined to have the perfect, all american family. When that family disappoints him in some way, well, they pay with their lives. Then he's on to a new family and identity. He meets Shelly Hack, and her daughter, played by Jill Schoelen. The daughter knows that her new stepfather is not who he seems to be, and she sets out to prove herself right. 'O' Quinn is scary. His stepfather is just as creepy when he's nice as he is when he's stark raving mad. A teriffic, and underrated performance. The movie is not your typical horror/slasher film. It's more mature and intelligent. There is very little blood here, and that makes it a better film. The intelligence of this film was scarred by two horrible sequels that went down the typical 80's slasher road. Skip those and see this. One of the most underrated suspense/horror films. Make room for daddy!.

'The Stepfather' is a very good thriller from the 80's! I'm glad I made a copy of it from cable TV years ago as it's not available on DVD in this country. Terry O'Quinn gives a fine performance as the warped "perfect family man". Bordering on parody because of O'Quinn's far off stares, this film does deliver some good tense moments when "The Stepfather" decided his little perfect family is not living up to his expectations! Shelly Hack even manages a good believable performance in this nightmare episode of 'Leave it to Beaver'. Well worth watching and it deserves a DVD release in this country!