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The Stepfather

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

1987-01-23 Horror 1hr 29m

A seemingly mild mannered man -- who has just murdered his entire family -- quickly adopts a new identity and leaves town. After building a new relationship with a widow and her teenage daughter, he struggles to hide his true identity and maintain a grip on reality.

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The Stepfather
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Storyline

A seemingly mild mannered man -- who has just murdered his entire family -- quickly adopts a new identity and leaves town. After building a new relationship with a widow and her teenage daughter, he struggles to hide his true identity and maintain a grip on reality.

  • Released
    1987-01-23
  • Revenue
    $2,488,740
  • Budget
    n/a
  • Runtime
    1hr 29m
  • Genre
    Horror, Thriller
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    English
  • imdb-logo
    6.7
  • Production
    ITC Entertainment

Crew

Joseph Ruben
Director
Donald E. Westlake
Screenplay
Jay Benson
Producer
Keywords:
psychopath widow shower stepfather murder serial killer real estate agent psycho killer psycho murder of family

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Cast

Terry O'Quinn

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Jerry Blake
Jill Schoelen

Jill Schoelen
Stephanie Maine
Shelley Hack

Shelley Hack
Susan
Charles Lanyer

Charles Lanyer
Dr. Bondurant
Stephen Shellen

Stephen Shellen
Jim Ogilvie
Stephen E. Miller

Stephen E. Miller
Al Brennan
Robyn Stevan

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Karen
Jeff Schultz

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Paul Baker
Lindsay Bourne

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Anna Hagan

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Gillian Barber

Gillian Barber
Anne Barnes
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Lt. Jack Wall
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Gabrielle Rose

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Margot Pinvidic

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Rochelle Greenwood

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Paul Batten

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Sheila Paterson

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Dr. Barbara Faraday

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Movie Reviews

Reviews for The Stepfather
reviewer avatar

A Review by Wuchak 7

Written by Wuchak on 2019-09-05

***What if your stepfather is a psycho?*** After an amiable man (Terry O'Quinn) in the Seattle area slays his family he starts a new one ... read more

***What if your stepfather is a psycho?*** After an amiable man (Terry O'Quinn) in the Seattle area slays his family he starts a new one under a different identity, but his discerning stepdaughter (Jill Schoelen) picks up on his questionable morality. “The Stepfather” (1987) is a solid crime drama/thriller with a bit o’ horror. Movies like “Psycho” (1960), “Play Misty for Me” (1971), “Halloween” (1978), “The Shining” (1980) and “Fatal Attraction” (1987) come to mind, but this is equal parts coming-of-age drama in the mold of “The Crush” (1993) with a sort of inverted story. O’Quinn effectively portrays the delusional titular character while Schoelen is reminiscent of a young Demi Moore. The decidedly 80’s score is quaint. The film runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot in the Vancouver area, including Edgemont Village. The main cast is rounded out by Shelley Hack (the girl’s mother), Charles Lanyer (her therapist) and Stephen Shellen (the justice-seeking brother of the original family). GRADE: B+

reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 6

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2025-02-06

Leaving a scene of carnage behind him, “Jerry” (Terry Quinn) chucks the evidence over the side of his departing ferry and goes off in search... read more

Leaving a scene of carnage behind him, “Jerry” (Terry Quinn) chucks the evidence over the side of his departing ferry and goes off in search of a new life. He is soon settled down with “Susan” (Shelley Hack) and her teenage daughter “Stephanie” (Jill Schoelen). That all seems to be proceeding well enough, he’s got a job as an estate agent and though his relationship with his new step-daughter could be better, things seem fine. Suddenly, though, it’s as if a switch has been flipped and his previously more menacing character starts to rear its ugly head. His family aren’t quite as malleable as he required and so, well, you can imagine his reaction and the rest of the plot. I suspect his approach to a pain-in-the-ass teen might resonate with some, but perhaps not with a family who have to come to terms with his increasingly unpleasant behaviour and that’s really the gist of this. It’s not exactly original, nor does it stray very far from the path of predictability as the drama is repetitively protracted to maximise the sense of peril without really paying much attention to plausibility. We know that “Ogilvie” (Stephen Shellen) is on his trail, but that thread rather peters out before a denouement that is both rushed and clumsily sequel-boding. It’s ok, but nothing special, sorry.

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by Wuchak

***What if your stepfather is a psycho?*** After an amiable man (Terry O'Quinn) in the Seattle area slays his family he starts a new one under a different identity, but his discerning stepdaughter (Jill Schoelen) picks up on his question...

reviewer avatar

A Review by Wuchak 7

Written by Wuchak on 2019-09-05

***What if your stepfather is a psycho?*** After an amiable man (Terry O'Quinn) in the Seattle area slays his family he starts a new one under a different identity, but his discerning stepdaughter ...

read more
reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 6

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2025-02-06

Leaving a scene of carnage behind him, “Jerry” (Terry Quinn) chucks the evidence over the side of his departing ferry and goes off in search of a new life. He is soon settled down with “Susan” (Shelle...

read more