This nifty little sleeper from the 80's, I thought, played more like a psychological thriller than straight up horror flick. That's not to say that this wouldn't qualify as a horror movie: it has plenty of gore and several "boo" moments. But mostly the film creates and maintains a dreadful feel, like something icky is creeping up on you. Much of this has to do with the tour-de-force performance of Terry O'Quinn as the title character. The amazing thing about this perf is that the character could easily have been cliché psycho, your typical knife-wielding maniac. But O'Quinn tries and succeeds at making The Stepfather a troubled, very troubled man, a man consumed with the concept of the "perfect family."
Jerry Blake cons his way into single mom families. Then, when problems arise (standard marriage/family problems to normal people), he butchers the family, changes his appearance, ties up all loose ends, and moves onto the next awaiting mother and daughter. His latest family, Susan and Stephanie Maine (Shelley Hack and Jill Schoelen, who, by the way, is a DEAD RINGER for Demi Moore's younger sister!) adjust to Jerry's presence as well as any average movie "mother/daughter-on-their-own" would: Mother becomes the peacemaker between the Stepdad (trying too hard to click with Daughter) and Daughter (trying too hard to drive Stepdad away). Soon enough, Stephanie is getting some bad vibes from Jerry, starts digging around, and soon, Jerry's past begins to catch up with him. You probably have a pretty good idea of how it all plays out. But O'Quinn is mesmerizing. You really can't take your eyes off of him. Fortunately, director Joseph Ruben included many camera shots that are either close-ups, or start off that way, so that the viewer is really drawn into Jerry's eyes and can feel the fear he emanates. It's really remarkable. His Jerry is a very sick man indeed. He doesn't have knives for hands or a chainsaw to play with, this guy has ISSUES!! Deep, dark, scary issues. And when you see that look on O'Quinn's face during the climactic showdown, you'll know what I mean.
To strengthen matters, the other performances are quite good for this type of movie. Schoelen is appropriately childlike yet adolescent as Stephanie, and Hack, as Susan, is maternal, yet vulnerable. Ruben's direction is smooth, careful and restrained. He's smart enough to back off when O'Quinn is doing his thing, but brings a stylish (yet no less creepy) eye to the picture.
When the hour and a half was up, I was satisfied and glad that I decided to miss 'Family Guy' to watch this!
Jerry Blake cons his way into single mom families. Then, when problems arise (standard marriage/family problems to normal people), he butchers the family, changes his appearance, ties up all loose ends, and moves onto the next awaiting mother and daughter. His latest family, Susan and Stephanie Maine (Shelley Hack and Jill Schoelen, who, by the way, is a DEAD RINGER for Demi Moore's younger sister!) adjust to Jerry's presence as well as any average movie "mother/daughter-on-their-own" would: Mother becomes the peacemaker between the Stepdad (trying too hard to click with Daughter) and Daughter (trying too hard to drive Stepdad away). Soon enough, Stephanie is getting some bad vibes from Jerry, starts digging around, and soon, Jerry's past begins to catch up with him. You probably have a pretty good idea of how it all plays out. But O'Quinn is mesmerizing. You really can't take your eyes off of him. Fortunately, director Joseph Ruben included many camera shots that are either close-ups, or start off that way, so that the viewer is really drawn into Jerry's eyes and can feel the fear he emanates. It's really remarkable. His Jerry is a very sick man indeed. He doesn't have knives for hands or a chainsaw to play with, this guy has ISSUES!! Deep, dark, scary issues. And when you see that look on O'Quinn's face during the climactic showdown, you'll know what I mean.
To strengthen matters, the other performances are quite good for this type of movie. Schoelen is appropriately childlike yet adolescent as Stephanie, and Hack, as Susan, is maternal, yet vulnerable. Ruben's direction is smooth, careful and restrained. He's smart enough to back off when O'Quinn is doing his thing, but brings a stylish (yet no less creepy) eye to the picture.
When the hour and a half was up, I was satisfied and glad that I decided to miss 'Family Guy' to watch this!