The Stepfather (1987)

The Stepfather has many memorable scenes. Terry O`Quinn portraits a very sick man, and this madness is made clear from the very start of the movie, when the (step)father has just killed his family and we are introduced to him as he removes his beard and in other ways alters his appearence to allow him to find another family and again become THE STEPFATHER. The most memorable scene for me is when he interrupts his step daughter on the porch kissing her date for the evening good night. The stepfather snaps, because he wants the family to remain static for ever, he is crazy. So then his wife comes down and she yells at the stepfather saying that he has ruined what they had built up. The expression on his face when hearing that is one of sheere terror. The stepfather is so fragile. The basement scene where the step daugther is getting something in the freezer and the stepfather rushes into the basement to let off some steem, not knowing she is there. It is all very scary.

Fmovies: "The Stepfather" is one of the better thrillers to come out of the 1980s: a very pointed look at one very old fashioned individuals' commitment to traditional values, or to put it another way, his intense, ongoing search for perfection. Perfection that, of course, we know can never really be obtained.

"Jerry Blake" (character actor Terry O'Quinn, in his legendary first starring role) is a mass murderer of families. He selects widows with children, ingratiates himself to the woman, and marries into the family. Desperately seeking an ideal American family, he inevitably erupts into violence whenever the family disappoints him. And then on he moves to another brood, and another fabricated life.

O'Quinns' wonderful performance, and the very resonant theme, help to make this a solid diversion. It's based on the real life story of John List, who'd murdered his whole family, and set himself up with a new identity in a new town. He wasn't caught until 'America's Most Wanted' came along in the late 1980s and profiled him. (As a matter of fact, his arrest coincided with the release of this films' first sequel.) The screen story is credited to authors Carolyn Lefcourt, Brian Garfield, and Donald E. Westlake, with Westlake writing the screenplay.

Efficiently directed by Joseph Ruben, this works towards a rather conventional finale, but until then is quite gripping. The lovely Jill Schoelen is appealing as the suspicious stepdaughter Stephanie, while Shelley Hack is adequate as Susan, the unsuspecting new woman in Jerry's life. Charles Lanyer, as kindly psychiatrist Dr. Bondurant, and Stephen Shellen, as Jim Ogilvie, are fine in support.

The opening sequence is nothing short of chilling, especially considering how calmly O'Quinn plays it. There is a fair amount of gore here, as well as some T & A supplied by Ms. Schoelen. The "Who am I here?" moment has become fairly iconic.

O'Quinn reprised his role for the first sequel, but for the third movie, it was recast with Robert Wightman.

Nine out of 10.

Terry O'Quinn is excellent here. He has a definite menacing presence, and his subdued behavior around people only heightens the shock of his raging outbursts. However, the mediocre script ruins what could have been a great film. As a character study of O'Quinn, this would have been chilling and effective. But it makes for a mediocre thriller. O'Quinn plays a psychotic man obsessed with perfection, and the ideal "American Dream". Inevitably, his family disappoints him, so he creates a new identity, kills them and moves on. The scenes with Jerry are strong and frightening, but the film becomes formulaic when we're introduced to Jim, who amazingly discovers a vital clue to his whereabouts in a few minutes of poking around. The police missed this? Too many dumb plot points and the predictable finale spoil it. O'Quinn's performance deserved a better film.

The Stepfather fmovies. This movie was based on a true story. Back in the 1950's a man named John List murdered his wife and kids and married into another family with no father and he was eventually caught. This movie is on a similar basis. This has to one of the best films of the 1980's. Terry O'Quinn is absolutely brilliant as the psychotic stepfather, in other movies you wouldn't think of him as a psychopath like that. Shelley Hack was a bad choice for the wife, the role was unfit for her, in my opinion they should of gotten somebody more dramatic (you choose who), and Jill Schoelen was superb as the daughter, possibly her best film, she played the role as if she lived it before. Charles Lanyer as the psychiatrist was an absolute bore, he should have played the reporter. Stephen Shellen was good as the vengeful brother in law and finally Blu Mankuma as the cop (so what else is knew) seemed like he didn't care about the case. If you want to see a great thriller based on an actual story watch this. I give this 10 out of 10

Nice guy (Terry O'Quinn) gets married to lovely wife (Shelley Hack) and her rebellious daughter (Jill Schoelen). He wants his family to be like "The Brady Bunch" or "Father Knows Best". However when his family doesn't live up to his expectations he brutally kills them, changes his identity and moves on to find another unmarried woman with kids. And he's getting tired of Hack and Schoelen...

Exceptional thriller. O'Quinn gives a top-notch performance as the killer. He's helped by a very intricate script. Those two combined make you understand why he kills and plays with your emotions--I found myself actually liking the guy (for a while). There isn't a lot of violence in this, but when it appears it's very sudden, extremely bloody and shocking.

The only liabilities here are Hack and Schoelen--they're pretty bad in their roles. But O'Quinn and the script more than make up for them.

A sadly forgotten thriller from the late 80s. Well worth catching.

After reading the plot outline, some of you might roll your eyes and mutter, "Oh, great. A formulaic, plotless, cardboard-character, derivative flapdoodle." Not so. The plot, which gives life and depth to the characters, is so ingeniously written that most viewers will probably not be able to anticipate what's coming next. Breath-taking suspense, occasional pitch-black humor, a creepy, creepy villain, superb acting, and a roller coaster pace all add up to make one heck of a ride. Terry O'Quinn's character is probably the creepiest maniac to ever grace the screen since Anthony Perkins in Psycho. If you have even the slightest interest in horror films, I strongly urge you to rent this film.