Before Terry O’Quinn became a household name as the sage-like John Locke from TV’s Lost, he was psychotically obsessed with the perfect American family in this classic ’80s thriller.
The Stepfather opens with a man (O’Quinn) looking in the bathroom mirror soaked in blood. He cleans himself up and changes his physical appearance. He dawns a suit as if getting ready to go to work then walks out of the house. Only, when he comes down the stairs and passes the living room we see the gory blood-soaked remains of his family. Then walks out the front door whistling “Camptown Races.”
Cut to one year later. The man, now calling himself Jerry Blake, has just found himself a new family: widow Susan (Shelley Hack) and her daughter Stephanie (Jill Schoelen). But life with his new family isn’t the prefect ideal world he hoped it would be and soon he begins to crack. Stephanie suspects her stepfather of not being whom he says he is, but no one believes here. That is until it’s too late!
It’s a pretty simple story for a thriller/slasher kind of film, but O’Quinn’s performance really sells the whole thing. You can see how obsessed Jerry is with having the perfect ’50s TV family and how much it hurts him to see any flaws – such as when Stephanie gets expelled from school for fighting. “Girls don’t get expelled from school.” He says with a smile, believing it to be utterly true.
However, the finest moment in the film comes at the end when the final layer of Jerry’s sanity breaks away. Susan calls him on one of his lies and as he tries to explain it away he forgets for a moment who he’s supposed to be. “Who am I here?” he asks. Confused, Susan reminds him. “Oh, right, thank you, honey.” He says pleasantly, then he turns and smacks here in the face with the phone. The violence comes so suddenly it’s quite a shock. The film is filled with many great moments like this one.
Kids today might get bored with the slow pacing of the film, but it has a fantastic creepy build up with a great pay off. Terry O’Quinn is a fantastic villain because he doesn’t look the part. It’s a fantastic contrast.
This is by no means a great film, it’s certainly flawed and a little cheesy, but if you enjoy ’80s thrillers and horror films, then there is no reason you won’t enjoy The Stepfather.
The Stepfather is presented in anamorphic widescreen 1:85.1 and 2.0 Dolby TrueHD stereo. This is a great looking creepy film. It’s well made for an ’80s horror film and the High Def transfer is very nice.
The Stepfather Chronicles: (26 min.) This is a nice retrospective about the making of the film with great new interviews with the cast and crew. Sadly, Mr. O’Quinn was apparently too cool for school to share his thoughts on the film. The films creators also comment on the current remake of the film.
Audio Commentary with Director Joseph Ruben and a writer for Fangoria magazine: This is a decent commentary. Having the Fangoria writer there to come up with questions is a nice touch. Still, this one is only for really hardcore fans of the film.
Trailers: Trailers for Stepfather I, II & III. Also, the German trailer for this film, renamed Kill, Daddy, Kill! is very amusing.
Still Galleries
Before Lost I had no idea who Terry O’Quinn was. But when I found out that John Locke starred in an ’80s horror film I knew I had to see it and was excited to get to review this Blu-Ray release. And I’m happy to report that it didn’t disappoint. This isn’t a film for everyone, but it’s a great way to spend an hour and half if you’re a fan of the genre.
Shout! Factory presents The Stepfather. Written by Donald E. Westlake. Directed by Joseph Ruben. Starring Terry O’Quinn, Jill Shoelen and Shelley Hack. Running time: 89 minutes. Rated R for violence and brief nudity. Originally released in 1987. Released on DVD: June 16, 2010.
