Hello Youtube!
I am Torstein from Cinema Terror and today we are going back to 1987 with the psychological
thriller starring Terry O'Quinn in one of his best screen performances as of yet in
The Stepfather.
The Stepfather tells the story of a guy that goes by the name of Jerry Blake... for now.
He and his new wife Susan and her teenage daughter Stephanie are trying to live the
perfect American family life.
Jerry and Susan are very happy together, but Stephanie has not gotten over the loss of
her father who passed away shortly before her mother found Jerry.
She also has a suspicious feeling that something is not right with the guy, and as the title
of the film predicts, she has good reasons to be afraid...
The Stepfather is a simple story, done correctly with talent behind and in front of the camera.
The best part of this film is Terry O'Quinn as the stepfather.
He gets the space to shine and he becomes insanely creepy due to the character feeling
so real and complex.
It's scary to think about how many people live what seems to be a normal life on the
outside, and at the same time have such evil within them.
And they can be close to you, either a good friend or a family member.
O'Quinn alone makes the entire film worth watching for people who enjoy watching movies
about serial killers, he is amazing in this.
Another person who does a great job is the lovely Jill Schoelen as Stephanie.
She has so much charm in her and you automatically just want her to be safe and happy.
She is presented as a sort of rebel here, getting into fights at school and stuff, and
that did seem a bit out of character as she otherwise is a very volunerable and caring
girl.
It was a bit weird that they included a shower scene with her though, as the character is
only 16 years old and this didn't feel like a film that wanted to show nudity, so it also
felt a bit out of place.
Just so you know, Schoelen was 23 at the time, so you can appreciate the scene, even if it
didn't feel like it belonged there.
Shelley Hack plays Susan, Stephanie's mother and she is the weakest out of these three,
but her character also doesn't get that much attention.
I think the movie could have benefitted a bit from having more drama within their family
dynamic.
Perhaps go even darker and create more scenes filled with fear and intensity.
It does feel like it is keeping it very safe at times, a bit too safe for my liking, but
this is also made by a director that has said he was more interested in the psychological
aspect of the main character and not as much in creating a scary horror film.
The story is also based on the true events of a murderer named John List, so I guess
they also wanted to keep it respectful and also not go too violent as they surely didn't
want the film to be categorized next to all of the slasher films that was out at that
time.
I wouldn't have minded it if they had went even further into the psyche of Jerry, or
whatever his real name was.
I've read that the first draft included some backstory about his childhood and something
like that would have been appreciated in the film.
There was also something weird to the relationship between Stephanie and her psychiatrist, and
I wouldn't have minded it if they went even further on that part either.
What I could have done with less amount of was the investigation angle with Stephen Shellens
character Jim.
He is on a path to find and bring Jerry down, as one of the previous families that Jerry
has slaughtered included Jim's sister.
Director Joseph Ruben deserves a lot of credit for making a captivating movie out of a story
that on paper is very basic.
He got great performances out of his actors and he is able to keep a suspense going from
start to finish.
The Stepfather did enough in the box office to warrant a sequel two years later and a
third one that was made for TV in 1992.
And as so many other films from this era, it also got the Hollywood remake treatment
in 2009, a movie that has went completely by me as I can't remember ever hearing about
it before reading about it now.
The original Stepfather is a great film for those who enjoy getting into the mind of a
psychopath without needing to have it filled with blood and violence.
Terry O'Quinn and Jill Schoelen are awesome to watch and their performances brings The
Stepfather up to a strong score of 4 out of 5.
Have you seen The Stepfather or perhaps any of its sequels?
What do you think of them?
I probably watched the second one as a teenager, but can't remember much of it.
Is it worth spending the time watching and doing a review of?
Let me know about it in the comment section below.
If you enjoyed this video then please do leave a like and subscribe, I am constantly working
on new videos so stay tuned for more stuff coming soon here on Cinema Terror.
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