The Stepfather (1987)

After murdering his entire family, a man remarries a widow with a teenage daughter in another town and prepares to do it all over again.

Director:

Joseph Ruben

Writers:

Carolyn Lefcourt (story), Brian Garfield (story)

Stars:

Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Terry O'Quinn	...	Jerry Blake
Jill Schoelen	...	Stephanie Maine
Shelley Hack	...	Susan
Charles Lanyer	...	Dr. Bondurant
Stephen Shellen	...	Jim Ogilvie
Stephen E. Miller	...	Al Brennan
Robyn Stevan	...	Karen
Jeff Schultz	...	Paul Baker
Lindsay Bourne	...	Art Teacher
Anna Hagan	...	Mrs. Leitner
Gillian Barber	...	Annie Barnes
Blu Mankuma	...	Lt. Jack Wall
Jackson Davies	...	Mr. Chesterton
Sandra Head	...	Receptionist
Gabrielle Rose	...	Dorothy Rinehard

Storyline

A family-values man named Jerry Blake marries widows and divorcées with children in search of the perfect family. As soon as his new family members show signs of being human and not robots who will march unquestioningly to his tune, his dreams of domestic bliss begin to crumble, and he kills them. Then he alters his appearance, assumes a new identity, and skips to another town to begin the deadly ritual all over again. He marries Susan Maine, who sees him as the ideal surrogate father for her teenage daughter Stephanie, and he is soon up to his old tricks when she proves to be too much of a troublesome teen to handle.

---

Plot Keywords:

shower | serial killer | murder of family | looking at oneself in a mirror | new identity | 

---

Taglines:

He wanted a perfect family in a perfect town. But they couldn't measure up...neither could the others.

---

Genres:

Horror | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 June 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stepfather I

Filming Locations:

Edgemont Village, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$260,587, 25 January 1987, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,488,740

Company Credits

Production Co:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Screenwriter Donald E. Westlake based the character of Stephanie on his real-life teenage stepdaughter who he has having difficulty getting along with.

---

Goofs

When the film first opens, we see a paperboy toss the newspaper onto Jerry's lawn. It lands close to the perimeter of the lawn. But when Jerry emerges later and stops to pick up the newspaper, it is closer to the house.

---

Quotes

Jerry Blake: Wait a minute, who am I here?
Sue: Jerry?
Jerry Blake: That's right. Jerry Blake. Thanks, honey.

---

Connections

Referenced in Adjust Your Tracking (2013)

---

Soundtracks

I Want You
(1984)
Performed by Patrick Moraz and John McBurnie
Music by Patrick Moraz
Lyrics by John McBurnie
Published by Zoram Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Passport Records (JEM)

User Reviews

First-rate thriller

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.