Common Sense Media Review
By Charles Cassady Jr.
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Popular '80s horror-suspense about parent from hell.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Stepfather (1987)
What's the Story?
In the Pacific Northwest, a normal-looking man named Hank Morrison (Terry O'Quinn) slaughters his whole suburban family -- including the kids -- then changes his appearance, neighborhood, and identity. One year later, high-school troublemaker Stephanie (Jill Schoelen) worries that something isn't right about her widowed mom's ever-smiling new husband, Jerry ... who's really the lethal Morrison. Jerry is an almost cartoonishly upbeat guy, bent on having a perfect, wholesome American family -- or else. Whenever life doesn't pan out easily, he shows a Jekyll-and-Hyde maniac rage that only Stephanie senses. As the girl's suspicions grow, a relative of Morrison's past victims picks up the trail of the deadly stepfather.
Is It Any Good?
As a horror-suspense rendering of a stepkid's worst imaginings and a twisted view of "family values" gone wrong, this movie functions smoothly and doesn't insult viewer intelligence. No, it's not quite Hitchcock quality, and in fact The Stepfather wasn't even a big hit when it was released. Its "sleeper" status did inspire two poor sequels (just reruns of the original, with more gore) and a needless 2009 remake.
Coming as it did after a 1980s flood of sickening slasher flicks aimed at teens, THE STEPFATHER earned good reviews by being smarter and better acted than the other cheapies about kids chopped up at the prom. Typical youth-bait material -- pranks, drugs, sex, rock music, skateboarding -- are almost entirely absent in the script co-authored by thriller novelists Donald Westlake and Brian Garfield, which fleshes out the characters well and gives grown-ups equal validity and importance.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the stereotypical fear of wicked stepparents, from fairy-tales to here. Is that fair or realistic?
How does the violence in this movie compare to bloodier horror films like the Saw series? Do the different types of violence have different impact? Is one scarier than the other?
Some critics complain that mainstream moviemakers cynically bash "traditional American values" by making conservative characters and patriotic symbols look bad. Is this movie guilty of that, or is it just trying to be clever suspense?
Movie Details
- In theaters : January 23, 1987
- On DVD or streaming : October 13, 2009
- Cast : Jill Schoelen , Shelley Hack , Terry O'Quinn
- Director : Joseph Ruben
- Studio : Shout! Factory
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 89 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : December 14, 2022
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