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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

An All-American Family... He'd Kill For It!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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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

When Jerry mixes up Stephanie's names to the little girl, he says his daughter's name is "Jill", which is the name of the actress who plays Stephanie.

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Goofs

Stephanie picks up the U2 cassette "Wide Awake In America" and puts it in her player. When she presses play, we hear Pat Benatar's "Run Between The Raindrops".

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Quotes

Sue, Jerry Blake: Jerry, we need to talk, Honey.
Jerry Blake: About What?
Sue: About what? What is happening to our family.
Jerry Blake: I'm taking care of it.
Sue: By yourself?
Jerry Blake: Uh huh.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Silent Night, Deadly Night V: The Toy Maker (2015)

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Soundtracks

Gwine to Rune All Night (De Camptown Races)
(1850) (uncredited)
Music by Stephen Foster
Whistled by Terry O'Quinn three times

User Reviews

A GREAT WATCH!!

The Stepfather is an excellent movie, I especially liked the lead actor playing Jerry. His performance set the whole feel of the movie, with his outbursts of rage until he finally snaps. He is also very intelligent, when he snaps he sets up a entire new life in another town before he kills his family. The story is Jerry has become the stepfather in a family of a beautiful, young widow and a lovely daughter. Unfortunately, Jerry has a very strict definition of the perfect family and his new family just may not be making the cut. When his family starts disappointing him, he's is willing to kill for the American Dream. A great movie, not really a horror as such, but more of a psychological thriller that makes you think.