Runtime:
89 minutes
Directed
by: Joseph Ruben
Starring:
Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack, Charles Layner, Stephen
Shellen
From:
ITC
Watching this on Father's Day... a natural move, and a good one to boot:
I was not the first person to bring up this idea, but watching The
Stepfather on Father's Day seemed all too appropriate, so it being for
free on Amazon Prime was even more motivation to check this out. While
there are some silly moments, I can say this is pretty good overall.
The
cast as a whole is fine and 80's babe Jill Schoelen is good, but Terry
O'Quinn as the eponymous stepfather is great. The idea that a guy who
looks like a normal adult male is actually a sociopath, and he had some
sort of weird childhood only hinted at which caused him to develop a
warped, antiquated (even in the 1980's) idea of a perfect family and if
the widow and kid(s) don't measure up to those ideals, he slaughters
them... but he is smart so he plans for a few weeks to start a new life
before the murders... that is pretty terrifying and O'Quinn was perfect
for the role. He could be charming, terrifying, or switch between the
two at the drop of a hat; just one look from him could be chilling if he
was full of menace and rage. As the movie is framed around him and the
focus is not as much on his step-daughter trying to figure out the truth
about him, it was a stroke of luck in picking him for the role.
There are some fun setpieces and the movie is more on the psychological side rather than seeing graphic kills, or a plethora of kills. It is still enjoyable seeing when and how the lead will crack, and how the family deals with such a psycho. The 80's moments (the soundtrack and some of the clothing) personally delighted me and I will be a judgmental SOB here & presume the remake is as pointless and lame as its reputation says it is. For certain, I can say this was a good thing to watch on Father's Day; it should remind most people that at least their dads are not like Jerry Blake.
There are some fun setpieces and the movie is more on the psychological side rather than seeing graphic kills, or a plethora of kills. It is still enjoyable seeing when and how the lead will crack, and how the family deals with such a psycho. The 80's moments (the soundtrack and some of the clothing) personally delighted me and I will be a judgmental SOB here & presume the remake is as pointless and lame as its reputation says it is. For certain, I can say this was a good thing to watch on Father's Day; it should remind most people that at least their dads are not like Jerry Blake.
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