The Stepfather is directed by Joseph Ruben and collectively written by Carolyn Lefcourt, Brian Garfield and Donald E. Westlake. It stars Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack, Stephen Shellen and Charles Lanyer. Music is by Patrick Moraz and cinematography by John W. Lindley.
Why can't they leave me alone?
Joseph Ruben's film is firmly ensconced in the land of B horror cultdom, and rightly so. Some horror fans may be disappointed at the lack of brutal killings actually shown on screen, but looking beyond that expectation there beats the heart of a cynical picture. The American Dream shed of its bloody veneer, the film plants an ambiguous serial killer in the normalcy of the family life that he so craves, that is until his vision of Americana family life is not met and his dark half comes to the fore.
It's a cunning picture, keeping the killer's back story shaded in grey, and Ruben smartly keeps tension simmering away to keep viewers anxiously waiting for the stepfather to crack. O'Quinn is excellent as damaged dad, intense, measured and charmingly normal when required, and then not over the top when he cracks and rants. Around him he is backed by strong turns from Schoelen, Hack and Lanyer, while Ruben's direction and Lindley's colour photography bring a credible feeling to the plot.
A running sub-plot involving Shellen's grieving brother doing detective work feels a bit superfluous at times, while a nude shower scene with Schoelen is totally unnecessary. Don't get me wrong, Schoelen has a lovely body and is a very pretty girl, the actress aged 24 at the time, but she's playing a 16 year old! It just comes off as pointless titillation in a film that didn't need such tricks. Small irritants aside, The Stepfather is intelligent horror and still holding up now in this age of torture and hackville sub-genres. 7.5/10
Why can't they leave me alone?
Joseph Ruben's film is firmly ensconced in the land of B horror cultdom, and rightly so. Some horror fans may be disappointed at the lack of brutal killings actually shown on screen, but looking beyond that expectation there beats the heart of a cynical picture. The American Dream shed of its bloody veneer, the film plants an ambiguous serial killer in the normalcy of the family life that he so craves, that is until his vision of Americana family life is not met and his dark half comes to the fore.
It's a cunning picture, keeping the killer's back story shaded in grey, and Ruben smartly keeps tension simmering away to keep viewers anxiously waiting for the stepfather to crack. O'Quinn is excellent as damaged dad, intense, measured and charmingly normal when required, and then not over the top when he cracks and rants. Around him he is backed by strong turns from Schoelen, Hack and Lanyer, while Ruben's direction and Lindley's colour photography bring a credible feeling to the plot.
A running sub-plot involving Shellen's grieving brother doing detective work feels a bit superfluous at times, while a nude shower scene with Schoelen is totally unnecessary. Don't get me wrong, Schoelen has a lovely body and is a very pretty girl, the actress aged 24 at the time, but she's playing a 16 year old! It just comes off as pointless titillation in a film that didn't need such tricks. Small irritants aside, The Stepfather is intelligent horror and still holding up now in this age of torture and hackville sub-genres. 7.5/10