The Stepfather

Plot synopsis:
The film opens in a Seattle Bellevue neighborhood with Henry Morrison, a psychotic serial killer and master of disguise, washing blood off himself in a bathroom before shaving his beard, replacing his glasses with contact lens and putting a few of his belongings into a suitcase. After packing his things, Henry leaves through the front door of his house, nonchalantly passing the butchered remains of his family, Vicki, Jill and a grown male relative along with a grown female relative, whom he had earlier murdered. Boarding a ferry, Henry disposes of the suitcase containing the objects from his former life by throwing it into the ocean.One year later, Henry (operating under the identity of a mild-mannered real estate agent named Jerry Blake) has married the widow Susan Maine. Jerry's relationship with Susan's teenage daughter Stephanie is strained, as Stephanie is highly suspicious of Jerry, despite his acts of kindness, such as giving her a puppy as a gift. After a session with her psychiatrist Doctor Bondurant, who advises her to give Jerry a chance, Stephanie is driven home by Jerry, who suggests they work together to build a better relationship, also stating that he and Susan hope she will try to be a better student at school, where Stephanie is having trouble.In Seattle, vigilante drifter, former adventurer and amateur detective James "Jim" Ogilvie, the brother of Jerry's latest victim Vicki and Jill's young uncle, convinces a reporter to run an article about his sister's slayer in the newspaper. While hosting a neighborhood barbecue, Jerry discovers the article and is clearly disturbed by it. Excusing himself from the festivities, Jerry goes into the basement of the house and begins maniacally rambling to himself (possibly recalling memories of his unhappy childhood), unaware that Stephanie is in the basement as well. Discovering his stepdaughter's presence, Jerry brushes off his outbursts by saying he was simply letting off some accumulated stress. Leaving the basement, Stephanie finds the newspaper mentioning Jerry's earlier killings and comes to believe her stepfather is the murderer Henry Morrison mentioned in the article.Stephanie writes a letter to the newspaper requesting a photo of Henry Morrison; but Jerry finds the photo in the mail and hides it from Stephanie while she is with Dr. Bondurant. After hiding the photo, Jerry thrashes about in the basement and contemplates killing Susan and Stephanie, but is brought to his senses when Susan yells to him, saying that Dr. Bondurant is calling asking to speak to him. Jerry refuses to answer the phone, having Susan tell the doctor that he is out. Curious as to why Jerry is avoiding him, Doctor Bondurant pretends to be a man named Ray Martin and calls Jerry at the real estate agency under the pretense of wanting to buy a house. As Jerry schedules a meeting with Bondurant, Stephanie opens an envelope addressed to her in the mail and finds a fake photo of Henry Morrison that Jerry had planted to protect his identity. Stephanie is tricked into believing her suspicions of Jerry are false.During his meeting with Bondurant, Jerry becomes increasingly suspicious of the man, who continually questions him about his home life. Realizing Bondurant is not who he says he is, Jerry beats him to death with a 2"x4" board. After discovering Bondurant's identity as his stepdaughter's psychiatrist, Jerry makes Bondurant's death look like an accident, blowing up the doctor's car with his body inside it. The next day, Jerry informs Stephanie of Bondurant's death in an apparent car accident and succeeds in bonding with the mournful Stephanie. Jerry's newfound relationship with his stepdaughter is quickly cut short when he catches Stephanie kissing her boyfriend named Paul Baker, who is also the family friend of the Maines before Jerry came. Jerry's wild accusations of Paul attempting to rape Stephanie result in him getting into an argument with Stephanie and Susan, which results in the former running off. Realizing all hope of having a happy life with Susan and Stephanie has been ruined, Jerry quits his job and creates a new identity for himself as Bill Hoskins, applying for a job as an insurance agent in another town, where he begins to court another widow while planning to get rid of Susan and Stephanie.Having discovered where Jerry is now living, Jim Ogilvie begins going door to door through town in search of his former brother in-law. After Jim stops by, Susan phones the real estate agency to tell Jerry that someone was looking for him, only to be informed that Jerry had quit several days ago. Confronting Jerry when he returns home, Susan is told by Jerry that there must have been a mix-up. While explaining himself to Susan, Jerry confuses his Jerry Blake identity with the new Bill Hoskins one he had crafted and bashes Susan with the phone before knocking her down the basement stairs after she realizes Stephanie was right about Jerry. Content that Susan is dead, Jerry then sets to kill the family puppy, however, he instead prepares to kill Stephanie when she returns home and begins showering when Jim knocks on the door, having concluded that Jerry is Henry Morrison.Ambushing Jim when he enters the house after recognizing him, Jerry kills him by stabbing him in the stomach with a chef's knife as Jim pulls out a snub-nosed revolver before attacking Stephanie. Sustaining a wound to the arm when Stephanie stabs him with a piece of glass, Jerry follows his stepdaughter into the attic, where he corners her. Before he can kill Stephanie, Jerry falls through the weak floor of the attic, but recovers from the fall quickly and renews his attack on Stephanie when she tries to escape. Before he can harm Stephanie, Jerry is shot twice by a still living Susan, who had regained consciousness and retrieved Jim's gun. In the aftermath, Jerry is stabbed in the chest by Stephanie, with his own knife. Uttering a weak "I love you" to Stephanie, Jerry falls down the stairs, seemingly killed. The film ends with Stephanie cutting down the birdhouse she and Jerry had put up during the brief time they had bonded with one another.

Tags: neo noir, cult, cruelty, murder

Review:
Terry O'Quinn is excellent as "The Stepfather" - Jerry Blake; the nemesis of his newly acquired daughter, portrayed by Jill Schoelen.
Shelley Hack plays the unsuspecting mom, who does not realize what O'Quinn is capable of.This film came out in 1987, and it is amusing to see the references to family values and security- all quaintly defined in small town suburbia.
Jerry Blake (O'Quinn) is the new realtor in town, a perfect neighbor and family man; but something is awry- Dr. Bondurant is killed and strange occurrences crop up.If you have never seen this film, it is a worthwhile suspense/thriller; there are also some beautiful scenes of the Pacific Northwest- you will enjoy this film for Halloween..
Westlake.And an absolutely mesmerizing performance from Terry O'Quinn, who invests his character with enough repressed fury to make most screen psychos look like Mr Rogers.The film starts out with a real sense of style as O'Quinn washes his bloody hands in a bathroom sink then proceeds to alter his appearance drastically before walking downstairs to his murdered family; its a startling and creepy beginning and the rest of the film is as stylish and well done.
Nice guy (Terry O'Quinn) gets married to lovely wife (Shelley Hack) and her rebellious daughter (Jill Schoelen).
Perfection that, of course, we know can never really be obtained."Jerry Blake" (character actor Terry O'Quinn, in his legendary first starring role) is a mass murderer of families.
Terry O`Quinn portraits a very sick man, and this madness is made clear from the very start of the movie, when the (step)father has just killed his family and we are introduced to him as he removes his beard and in other ways alters his appearence to allow him to find another family and again become THE STEPFATHER.
Terry O'Quinn is absolutely brilliant as the psychotic stepfather, in other movies you wouldn't think of him as a psychopath like that.
The Stepfather (Terry O'Quinn) is a man obsessed with the ideal family, his standards and values are old fashioned and all he wants to be is a good father/husband.
But when Stephanie starts getting in trouble in school, giving him the cold shoulder and talking about leaving home, the Stepfather gazes at that knife and the word "kill" floats in his mind.Need a little order around here.The movie starts off on a grim note, lies dormant for a while with a few random explosions of violence and then finally blows up sky high for the finale.
Then there's wife Susan (Hack) who's just happy having a complete family again; plus, a guy who's a good lover as the movie shrewdly shows.For nutcase Jerry, however, the family is a sacred ideal that allows no shortcomings.
The film starts with us seeing Terry Quinn's character changing his appearance and leaving his family home after brutally butchering them.
Unfortunately, Jerry has a dark side to him, and only his stepdaughter Stephanie suspects the horrible truth: that "Jerry" is actually a serial killer who married widowed or divorced women with kids, plays the happy stepfather for a little while, before something sets him off, prompting him to murder every single one of them and move on to a new family and town after changing his name and appearance.
Terry O'Quinn is brilliant as Jerry Blake, a charming Ted Bundy type who is able to convince women that he is the perfect family man.
She investigates his past and as soon despises that he may be a killer who has changed his identity before marrying her mother, bad things begin to happen to people close to them.O'Quinn is diabolical as the smiling dad of the year in "The Stepfather" and the tension is unrelenting to the end..
This movie could have been an epic failure, but it has tons of energy and when it's supposed to be scary, it is.But the main attraction of the movie is Terry O' Quinn's show-stopping performance as Jerry, before he went on to star in the hit TV series "Lost." He makes this character so believable and frightening.
And when he has his first meltdown, in the iconic "basement" scene, you are on the edge of your seat, wondering when this guy is going to completely lose it.The film was inspired by the real murders of John List, who had killed his family, and left his town in search of another one.
As a general rule, I don't quote dialogue from a movie in my comment summary (to me, it seems like the lazy thing to do), but the above line, as uttered by Terry O' Quinn towards the end of The Stepfather, is so perfectly delivered that I decided to make an exception.
And this is just one of many genuinely chilling moments in this excellent 80s thriller that go to make it unmissable entertainment for anyone who loves scary movies.The lovely Jill Schoelen plays troubled teen Stephanie, who has every right to be disturbed: her father died a year ago, and she suspects that her new stepfather, the seemingly perfect Jerry (O'Quinn), is a serial killer.
Of course, Stephanie is right—Jerry IS a complete nutter: desperate to become part of a perfect American family, he marries widows and divorcées with children, but kills them when they fail to measure up to his exacting standards.Jim Ogilvie, the brother of one of Jerry's past victims, is hot on the psycho's trail, but with Jerry becoming increasingly disappointed with his new stepdaughter, will Jim catch up with the maniac before another family is slaughtered?Sharply written, with excellent direction from Joseph Ruben, and a brilliant central performance from O'Quinn, The Stepfather rarely puts a foot wrong.
Everyone, especially her mother (Shelley Hack), thinks he's the ideal family man, but Stephanie knows better.Although there is no real humor in this film (there's a clever one liner, but it's not especially funny, nor is it meant to be), this is a satire of the "American Family Ideal." You know what I mean, a white picket fence, a mom and a dad, 2.5 kids, and a dog and a cat.
This modesty takes the intriguing premise of Joseph Ruben's The Stepfather and raises it to a whole new level, creating a classic and unnerving thriller for the whole (dead) family.Jerry Blake (Lost's Terry O'Quinn) is the titular stepfather of Stephanie (Jill Schoelen), a 16-year-old high school student with a knack for picking fights and being a generally ill-behaved brat.
Meanwhile, Jim Ogilvie (Steven Shellen), the brother of Jerry's last wife/victim, is on the hunt for the elusive murderer.Director Ruben crafted quite the slice of horror thriller cinema with this 1987 gem, opting to let O'Quinn's frightening performance carry the film.
Terry O'Quinn's (Now a Star in the Spectacular hit t.v Show Lost)is captivating and perhaps one of the many great performances i have witnessed in watching a wide selection of Horror movies.
It is a good horror film overall.Terry O'Quinn is fantastic as Jerry Blake - his performance is amazing.
This guy is definitely off his rocker - not a man you would ever want to be around.The story is not all that bad, interesting, but this film is worth watching for Terry O'Quinn alone.
Great Performances in Nice Gem. The Stepfather (1987)*** (out of 4) Troubled teenager Stephanie (Jill Schoelen) is still suffering the side effects of her father's death a year earlier but things don't get any better when her mother (Shelley Hack) marries a new man (Terry O'Quinn).
Stephanie thinks there's something wrong with Jerry but she doesn't realize that he's actually a serial killer who gets rid of his "family" after they disappoint him.THE STEPFATHER pretty much came out of nowhere when it was released and became a nice little hit for the studio.
The movie certainly isn't flawless and at times it shows it's B-budget but it's still a nice gem that has plenty going for it.I think the greatest thing is the fact that O'Quinn is simply brilliant in his role.
What makes "The Stepfather" stand out is despite the absence of paranoia (the title character is revealed to be a killer in the opening few minutes), it remains quite effective with the plot line of the daughter trying to prove he is, and because he knows she knows, he attempts to conceal the truth.Interestingly, the death of another character is quite sad, whereas similar films only have deaths for shock value.The film also provides a subplot involving a relative of Jerry's previous family hunting him, although it raises the question of where relatives are I suppose, although that didn't detract from the movie..
So anyway, at first I was like huh?-some of these actors......yeah this really is a motion-picture-sop-opera, and then Terry O'Quinn (whom I'd never seen until this film) comes into character, and man was I blown away!
While not up there with classics like "The Exorcist" and "The Shining", this film earns its title through a brilliant turn by small role actor Terry O'Quinn in his best role ever as Jerry Blake, a man bent on finding the 'perfect' American family.
I first saw this when it was released back in the late 80s.(I remember too that when I saw it on the video store shelf I didn't have the money on me,and when I did the video would be rented out already,but I finally did get to hire it).That's also when I first known about Terry O'Quinn,and ever since then whenever I see him in other movies or on TV I automaticlly think of him from The Stepfather.I'm not saying that I don't like him or anything,it's just kind of weird how I remember him from his "Scary Jerry" role.My rating 8/10.
When his new family; mother and daughter Susan and Stephanie begin to disappoint him, his conscience doesn't get in the way of him doing what he does best...The film benefits from a great leading performance by Terry O'Quinn.
More than 20 years before portraying a paraplegic marooned on a "Lost" island and possessed by a homicidal Smoke Monster, actor Terry O'Quinn played a homicidal monster of a far more mundane sort, in Joseph Ruben's 1987 masterwork "The Stepfather." Inspired by the true-life story of John List, who executed his family of five in Westfield, NJ in 1971 and remained uncaught, with a new identity, for 18 years, the film transplants its action to the Puget Sound area.
Filled with impeccable performances, gorgeous photography of the autumnal Vancouver landscape, a terrific script that is laced with subtle humor (such as when Jerry tells Stephanie "Father knows best"), references to Hitchcock films (in addition to "Shadow of a Doubt," there are nods to "Psycho," as in that shot of Jerry with a stuffed bird behind his head, and to "The Birds" itself) and, as I mentioned, remarkable suspense, the picture really might be what "The Psychotronic Video Guide" has called it: "one of the best horror films of the '80s." All I know is, Terry gives a truly unsettling, Oscar-calibre performance in this, his breakthrough role; a performance that almost makes us feel sympathy for this monster, who is only seeking to attain his perfect family and slice of the American dream.
His latest wife is Shelley Hack, but her daughter (Jill Schoelen) suspects something is wrong with him.An exceptional performance by O' Quinn highlights this creepy, very well crafted & casted film with well done characteriztions, and a terrific finale.
"The Stepfather" is a suspenseful and original take on the traditional slasher or serial killer story, and is greatly elevated by a strong performance from O'Quinn, who viewers will likely best know as John Locke from "Lost." Despite it's modest budget, "The Stepfather" is an above average horror films thanks to O'Quinn's excellent performance, Ruben's suspenseful direction, and a solid script by Westlake..
The Stepfather is one of the most ingenious and original thrillers i have seen in years, and one of the few films that echoes Hitchcock without robbing his grave.(More exclamations: a sleeper, an underrated surprise that's a knockout from start to finish.)Terru O'Quinn starts as a nice guy who happens to slaughter his loved ones whenever his ideal family fails to live up to Father Knows Best rerun.
It's the kind one might have found back in the town that Hitchcock set his Shadow of a Doubt, and his leading man as villain in Joseph Cotten as a man going around killing lonely old women is replaced here by Terry O'Quinn as a guy who simply takes up shop in families where the father's dead or gone and the wife needs a good fatherly presence to make the familial unit complete.
I imagine if you turned it on in a scene with, say, the mother and the daughter talking, or even that intrepid young man who is out to avenge his sister and has the funny last name and fast car, you might not think to keep watching past five minutes.Ruben's only real invention here to make things really watchable, and sometimes fantastic, is the casting of O'Quinn.
Terry O'Quinn (who you can now see doing a brilliant job in TV show Lost) plays Jerry Blake, a man who marries widows and divorcees with children in search of the perfect family.
Terry O'Quinn did a great job playing this sick and very twisted individual and I'm sure when the movie came out it must have caused quite a stir because it mocks a bit the American dream showing all this perfect families living in lovely houses in the suburbs not knowing a serial killer walks among them and what Blake searches is exactly that, the American dream, the perfect family, the house with the picket fence and so on.
The performance of Terry O'Quinn is so superior over that of Shelly Hack that one almost feels like rooting for the bad guy i.e. The Stepfather at times because his wife (played by Hack) is so totally in the dark "Duh I'm just a dumb blonde who's in love" about the man she has married that she deserves what she almost gets in the end.
There are some nice moments in the film from director Joseph Ruben who shows a scene where Jerry watches a family.
Cute but rebellious 16-year-old Stephanie hates her stepfather Jerry Blake, who came between her and her beloved mother and insists on playing the perfect happy little family.
"The Stepfather" is an incorrectly classified slasher with a few good points.**SPOILERS**During their relationship, Stephanie Maine, (Jill Schoelen) is still upset her stepfather, Jerry Blake, (Terry O'Quinn) has replaced her recently deceased father.
Popular and entertaining slasher flick from the late 80's that follows a serial killer who marries rich widows to later kill them and get the inheritance.This is a typical slasher flick with great performances by favorite 80's actor Terry O'Quinn and the marvelous, sexy, beautiful Jill Schoelen who is a clever daughter and won't let her mother die in the hands of the bastard stepfather.The death scenes are regular and do not offer many blood but still deliver .I recommend this movie only for fans of straight slasher movies because otherwise, you won't even give it a chance..
Getting off to an unforgettably bloodcurdling start with a mysterious murderous madman (a beautifully nuanced and persuasive performance by terrific character actor Terry O'Quinn in his breakthrough role) calmly cleaning himself off and walking down the street nonchalantly whistling "Camptown Races" to himself after leaving a house with the mangled bodies of two people he just brutally butchered inside of it, this exceptionally scary, believable and riveting suspense thriller never loosens its grip on the viewer or takes a single false step.
Jerry Blake (Terry O'Quinn) is the perfect family man.
If you like serial killer films, simple gore and blood, simple plots, and creepy guys who need to come in touch with there feelings, this movie is perfect!
(The following would be a spoiler, if it didn't happen 2 minutes into the film) 'Stepfather' begins with O'Quinn's exit of one family (he slaughtered) to another.
This is truly a shame, because the original is one of the most tense and truly frightening horror films of all time, and improving upon it would be a dour impossibility.Terry O'Quinn is absolutely perfect as Jerry Blake (among others), and his performance here sets a new standard for screen psychos.
Terry O'Quinn is utterly convincing and downright hilarious as obsessive/compulsive nutbag Jerry Blake (The Stepfather), a Father Knows Best-type who is fixated on marrying into a perfect family he can control with an iron fist.
I was not surprised at all they did a remake but nowhere near as good as the original, the acting and direction is all done very well and I think the script belongs to Terry O'Quinn (The Stepfather) who plays an excellent part and love his expressions and scheming looks on his face.
The scenario the film establishes is even more possible today then it ever was with the added movie thriller touches like disguises, brutal murders, psycho killer histrionics, and "Lost" actor Terry O'Quinn is very credible as the psychopathic perfect family man Jerry.
Jill Schoelen the new stepdaughter doesn't like Jerry Blake (Terry O'Quinn).You see Jerry Blake wants the perfect family and Stephinie(Jill Schoelen) thinks he is too fake and old fashion.
This movie is one of the best Horror/Thriller movies i have seen in a long time and the movies about a man who is looking for the perfect family and he will kill to get it.I was surprised to find the actor Terry O'Quinn (from the good TV show lost) was in this movie playing the Stepfather and the movie stars other actors and actress like Jill Schoelen,Shelley Hack,Charles Lanyer,Stephen Shellen and Stephen E.
The movie starts with Jerry just having killed his 'former' family and moving in with Susan and her rebellious teenage daughter, Stephanie.