Movie review:
I really like The Stepfather (1987). Terry O'Quinn does a fantastic job as playing the creepy Stepfather Jerry Blake. The film opens leaving no doubt that Jerry is completely evil. When we meet Jerry's new family, Susan (recently widowed) and her teenage daughter Stephanie, you genuinely like them. The Stepfather is a great little Thriller, that I never really hear mentioned among horror fans.

I'd definitely recommend The Stepfather to anyone, including my friends who aren't horror fans.

Product review:
The Shout Factory Blu Ray has decent picture and sound quality. The special features include a 26 minute behind the scenes feature, and trailers for all three Stepfather films.

I'd heard of this movie before and had seen the remake, but it was only recently that I gave the original a shot. Seeing Terry O'Quinn of Lost fame as the star was what initially sold me on trying it, but the movie as a whole is about as perfect of a classic slasher as they come. The soundtrack is a little jarring if you're not ready for it, but you can tell the composer was definitely passionate about making appropriate music for every scene and it can range from hilarious to incredibly out of place, to absolutely perfect. O'Quinn hits his character's every note stunningly and can nail that rapid shift between perfect, 50's era television husband and broken sociopath without missing a beat. His facial expressions and range of vocal tones are just perfect for the character. The other actors all perform admirably, though I feel terrible for Mr. Olgilvie and the 'ending' his character was given after we spend so much of the movie following his story. That would probably be my only complaint about the film. If you've never watched and you love slasher films, classic thrillers, or Lifetime movies, there's no good reason not to watch this.

This is a fun movie. Terry O'Quinn plays a very convincing psychopath. There's not too much traditional horror or violence here... mostly this film contains psychological terror and a bit of family drama. You can think of it as a spicier "after hours" Lifetime flick. The situations aren't too ridiculous or goofy here. Things stay grounded in a fairly realistic realm. A more comedic tone and sense of outlandishness enters the franchise with the sequel, Stepfather 2: Make Room for Daddy. All 3 Stepfather films are great in their own ways. It's a shame the franchise didn't last longer.

I can't recommend this movie enough. Terry O'Quinn's performance should rank amongst the best of all time in film. O'Quinn takes this role in what would be a good movie and takes it to another level. He makes it a masterpiece of any genre.

The Stepfather's only shortcomings are not doing more with the Jerry Blake character. He is so brilliant that you don't want the movie to end and it leaves you with a strong desire to see more of a backstory. The film does a good job of explaining what's going on which sets up its scenes effectively. However, it would've been awesome to see more of O'Quinn, instead of the plot just being set up by references.

Shout Factory does a solid job with the blu ray release. However, it does not appear to be remastered. It is pricey, but I felt it was a must for my collection. It also includes an interesting documentary on the making of the film.

All in all, I'd recommend this to anyone older than 16. The foul language is minimal. The violence is gruesome in spots, but not over the top, and it feels like just enough to effectively execute certain scenes. There is a very brief sex scene containing no nudity that I feel would be teen safe. However, there is a later scene of nudity that I definitely would not want my children or teen to see.

First the soundtrack is 1980's music...that is when the film was made... I didn't think it was great as it was over done to be scary. The filmography was pretty good with all the autumn leaves scenes and the boat on the water. Terry O'Quinn has been one of my favorites since JAG. He is good actor and makes a believable psychopath killer. The plot was interesting and could have happened. The last scene was unreal...something went wrong with at.

typical psychopath movie but much more seeing the performence of this actor is on point. Its the type of movie you'd watch how the psychopath behaves.
so yea, the scariest thing in the movie is the acting... in a good way.
Best part of the movie is the stepfather and the shower scene hehehe.

Terry O'Quinn (Lost Series) was great being a psychopathic stepdad. Jill Schoelen had a awesome nude shower scene. I hope for sure amazon prime keeps this one at least for a while. It makes me root for the daughter and her mom. Great horror movie.

The best sleeper slasher movie there is. First, Terry O'Quinn's acting is phenomenal, and Jill Schoelen is great in this. For me it depicted how it might be to run into a real psychopath. It's just a solid movie that I can watch over and over again, not watch for years and then watch again. If you like suspense and horror (it's not too gory though) and somehow you missed this one, you have to see it.