FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

a_chinn Quite good low-budget thriller from underrated director Joseph Ruben ("Dreamscape" and "True Believer") and master mystery writer Donald E. Westlake (best known for is Parker novels and screen adaptation of "The Grifters"). Terry O'Quinn plays a disturbed man who wants the perfect all-American family, white picket fence and all the trappings, but when they don't meet his exacting standards, it results in a wholesale slaughter and him assuming a new identity to start trying things over again with a new family. That's where the film starts, with Quinn cleaning himself up and changing his appearance after slaughtering his current family. We next see him with a new wife, Shelley Hack, and new stepdaughter, Jill Schoelen, who begins to suspect something is not right with her new stepdad. There's a clever bit of cat and mouse between the two as O'Quinn begins to realize that his stepdaughter may be putting the pieces together of who he really is, which leads to a bloody and pretty wild climax. "The Stepfather" is a suspenseful and original take on the traditional slasher or serial killer story, and is greatly elevated by a strong performance from O'Quinn, who viewers will likely best know as John Locke from "Lost." Despite it's modest budget, "The Stepfather" is an above average horror films thanks to O'Quinn's excellent performance, Ruben's suspenseful direction, and a solid script by Westlake.

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!

Rainey Dawn I haven't seen this film in years - I'm glad to get a chance to watch it again. It is a good horror film overall.Terry O'Quinn is fantastic as Jerry Blake - his performance is amazing. He "MADE" this film - and made it scary. This one rates fairly high on my personal scare factor scale. The character Jerry Blake is one twisted, cunning, evil and vile man. This guy is definitely off his rocker - not a man you would ever want to be around.The story is not all that bad, interesting, but this film is worth watching for Terry O'Quinn alone. The rest of the cast is good as well. Generally speaking, horror movie fans should like this film - it is creepy slasher thriller.7/10

Paul Andrews The Stepfather starts as a man named Henry Morrison (Terry O'Quinn) leaves his home for the last time, a home in which his wife & children lie dead after he had killed them earlier. After travelling to a new town he now calls himself Jerry Blake & has found a new job as a real estate agent, Jerry has also found himself a new family. Jerry has married widow Susan Maine (Shelley Hack) but is having problems with her daughter Stephanie (Jill Schoelen) who resents Jerry & even has an intense dislike of him. After reading about the murdered family in a nearby town Stephanie becomes suspicious, especially after witnessing Jerry lose his temper on several occasions & decides to investigate further. Jerry becomes aware of Stephanie's suspicions & starts to realise that his 'perfect' family is falling apart, eventually Jerry decides he has to start again fresh & that he has to dispose of his current disappointing family...This British & American co-production was directed by Joseph Ruben & seems to be considered a bit of a classic in some circles, I must admit that I have no idea why & thought The Stepfather was a throughly average film. It's quite hard to define The Stepfather within the confines of one genre, I was expecting a slasher style horror film but The Stepfather is probably more a psycho thriller in the vein of Fatal Attraction (1987) which was released the same year. Like it's big budget Hollywood blockbuster The Stepfather hinges on family values & just how important they are to us, in the case of Jerry Blake he will literally kill for the perfect family & the idyllic existence that we are all brought up to aspire to, while Fatal Attraction places emphasis on it's family life with Michael Douglas doing all he can to salvage it & that it should be cherished & respected The Stepfather goes in the other direction & weaves it's story around the idea that family values are outdated & the perfect family simply does not exist & trying to attain it will only end in tears & misery. While the two films take opposite opinions I think the truth lies somewhere between the two, there's nothing wrong with traditional family life but at the same time it's near impossible for things to be completely perfect. At just over 80 minutes long The Stepfather moves along at a fairly sedate pace, while it's not boring it's hardly exciting either. The character's are alright if a little dumb at times & there's a real lack of slasher conventions until the final ten minutes in which we get a knife wielding maniac, a gratuitous shower scene & a final girl who defeats the bad guy after a chase. The Stepfather is competently written, plotted & it's alright to watch but I don't really understand the great reputation it has, I thought it was strictly average & I wouldn't want to see it again any time soon.The Stepfather looks alright, it has no great visual style but it's well made I suppose. Those looking for gore & novelty killings should stick with the likes of The Nightmare on Elm Street & Friday the 13th franchises & there's very little here. A guy is beaten with a plank of wood, a couple of dead bodies are seen, someone is shot & stabbed in the arm & that's about it. The script was apparently based loosely on the case of John List who killed in family in 1971 & remained on the run until 1989.Supposedly filmed in 40 days in Washington & in British Columbia in Canada on what must have been a fairly low budget The Stepfather has good production values. The acting is alright, I keep reading how great Terry O'Quinn is in the role but I was less impressed, sure he's fine but I didn't enjoyed his performance particularly.The Stepfather is a film with a great reputation & strong following but I must admit to being somewhat baffled by what people see in it, sure it's not terrible but I didn't think it was anything great either. Followed by Stepfather II (1989), Stepfather III (1992) & a more recent Hollywood remake The Stepfather (2009).