As far as rapidly produced sequels to unexpected 80's horror sleeper hits go, "The Stepfather II" is as good as it gets. And yes, I really meant that as a positive remark! The original was suspenseful, moody and even somewhat plausible. The sequel is outrageous, campy and absurd, but all that is completely acceptable because sequels are supposed to be like that. When the element of surprise is gone and the plot is as predictable as the weather forecast in Siberia, what else are you supposed to show except grotesque madness and nonsensical horror goodness? But, most of all, this is primarily Terry O'Quinn's big showcase movie. There were he was genuinely creepy and unpredictable in the first movie, he's a mad raving one-man-lunacy show here. The story logically continues where "The Stepfather" ended, only you'll have relish with some far-fetched things that may come across as unreal. Shortly after his initial murder spree, Jerry Blake is alive, kicking and institutionalized. Not only did he survive that stabbing at the end of the original, he only has the tiniest little scar on his chest even though I clearly remember that the blade of the knife was planted in his body for at least three quarters! His escape from the mental asylum is even more implausible, as the stupidest psychiatrist imaginable pretty much breaks all the safety rules ever written and literally begs to be massacred. He moves to a brand new neighborhood where he takes on the identity of a deceased family counselor and purchases a house. Jerry – or Gene, as he is calling himself now - may a lot more psychopathic than he used to be (whenever his anger gets the best of him, he retires to his basement to play with his buzz saw); he nevertheless remains a smooth talking guy who specializes in heartbroken women and confused kids of divorced parents. He seduces the lonely real estate agent Meg Foster (who looks like Kirstie Alley's identical twin sister) and befriends her teenage son in just a matter of days. His obsession to become a model family is interfered twice, though. First Carol's runaway husbands returns to revive their marriage and secondly there's the skeptical best friend Matty. I really liked her character, even though she should have gone to the police a bit quicker instead of playing Sherlock Holmes herself. "The Stepfather II" has a terrific climax! This was the best, hands down, wedding day sequence ever! The husband nearly kills his wife and together they practically destroy the whole building, yet none of the invitees notices a damn thing!

At first, in maybe the first hour or so, I thought this film as on par with the original. But then the flaws started rolling in. Granted, the first film has flaws, but this one has far more. For one, The Stepfather should have changed his appearance better, as he looked exactly as he did in the first film (someone could have recognized him from pictures on the news, or in the papers). Second off, what was with Carol's friend being so suspicious of The Stepfather? She had NO reason to, yet she suspected him of being a fake. There was simply no reason for her to have those suspicions, as he did nothing to provoke those suspicions out of her. It was just thrown in there to replicate how the daughter found out about him in the first film. It just was ridiculous. Other problems include nobody not finding the dead ex husband's body (eventually the guts of the body would have been seen), and the fact the wife somehow remembered some wine The Stepfather bought her a while back. Also, how he killed that guy in the beginning in broad daylight. It was all just too forced & unbelievable. The original felt more realistic in that sense. Any way, complaints aside, this film is pretty enjoyable, and O'Quinn gives an excellent performance yet again, but unlike it's predecessor, this film ends up being a routine slasher due to a pretty weak script. I give it a 6/10.

Terry O'Quinn reprises his role as the psychopath searching for the perfect family and willing to kill anyone who stands in his way. The first was more of a thriller while Jeff Burr's sequel is more or less a violent slasher film. Escaping from prison thanks to ridiculous means(..a psychiatrist wanting to help "rehabilitate" him, allows O'Quinn to meet with him, absent handcuffs, with the security guard waiting outside!It was an issue of trust, and O'Quinn saw fit to take advantage of such foolishness), O'Quinn uproots in a nice suburban neighborhood assuming the identity of a shrink, soon bewitching a real estate agent and her son(Meg Foster and Jonathan Brandis). Foster's husband, played by Mitchell Laurance, a dentist, took off with his receptionist and attempts to re-enter her life to the chagrin of O'Quinn. Also disrupting matters is Foster's gal pal, Caroline Williams, a postal worker who senses something's wrong about Mr. Right. Will O'Quinn allow certain people to interfere with his plans of betrothal? Or, will he solve such complications through violent means? Burr's direction is just as flashy and colorful as ever, attempting to better rather mediocre material. The movie is as predictable as they come, helped somewhat by a solid cast. Caroline Williams(..best known in Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre II)has a substantial role as Foster's snooping best friend, and pays a heavy price for attempting to protect her from O'Quinn. Foster and Brandis have rather thankless roles here, more or less servicing the plot as potential victims-in-the-making. This is O'Quinn and Williams' show all the way, and Terry capitalizes on the many nuances of his character, trying to develop him despite a plot which would wish to have him just murder people like some soulless madman. Amusing use of the tune "Camptown Races", whistled, and how it plays in the undoing of O'Quinn.

"The Stepfather 2" is a slightly better sequel effort, even though it's still flawed.**SPOILERS**In a psychiatric hospital, Gene Clifford, (Terry O'Quinn) is in rehab for his past crimes, and manages to escape during a trick. Hiding in California, he takes a job as a family therapist and has a group session where he meets Carol Grayland, (Meg Foster) a single mom. When they begin to develop a friendship, along with her son Todd, (Jonathan Brandis) her friend Matty Crimmins, (Caroline Williams) decides to get involved, not completely trusting him. Able to manipulate her to believe him to marry her, which forces her into action and is able to uncover his secret. Confronted with his real plan of marrying to preserve his idea of the perfect, he goes berserk to keep it that way.The Good News: This one is a rather decent sequel. The fact that this one still has the creepy motive and back-story for the main villain is a good selling point. It still feels rather creepy and unsettling due to a rather realistic feeling that happens to come from the film. From all the alternative actions taken to ensure that, to the way that it makes the activities he does both normal-seeming and yet really creepy at the same time. That is a fun quality and it adds to the overall tone of the film. This one's best features are it's few horror moments on display. These include the few slashing moments beforehand, which is the confrontation in the house as well as the kitchen brawl later in the film. Both of these are great and a lot of fun, and mixed together with the impressive impound lot scene that has a few comedic moments in it, and these are all rather fun. The wedding, though, is all kinds of fun. From the manic stalking to the constant brawling to it's few blood-splattering moments to the sheer joy at how it ends, this is all considered into a really great sequence. These here are all that work for the film.The Bad News: This one here is really disappointing for several reasons, and most of it is due to the fact that it seems to be classified as a slasher rather than a thriller like the first one, which it really should be. There's nothing in here that is characteristic of a slasher film, since the body count is barely there, the few kills on display are barely worth talking about other than the ones mentioned before, and it never once tries to elicit a feeling of constant terror from others before the stalking at the finale. This one never tries to become a slasher, and instead of being called a thriller, which is based around the film's central gimmick and theme, this one tries to play with that rather than going for straight-out horror and all that's left is a feeling of boredom from those who expect a slasher. As a thriller, it isn't that bad, but it's still left with the fact that nothing even happens, and all that occurs before the finale is the attempts to hide the truth from those searching into the past, and these are rarely interesting. That makes this feel even more boring to those expecting a slasher, but when these events aren't that good to begin with, it lowers it to the other fans, leaving this one feeling down even more. Even worse the film plays up all the black comedy one-liners that were requisite for any mass killer anti-hero in a sequel franchise during the late 80s, with the one-liners coming in at very obvious and badly timed moments, and are just plain distracting and rarely funny. This is better than it should be, but still falls a little short.The Final Verdict: With one of the main problems that plagued the first one while also fixing one of it's key ones, this one comes out in the end slightly better. Interesting for those who enjoy the psycho-thriller genre, while slasher fans should feel a little better about it over the first one and should give it a chance.Rated R: Violence, Language and a mild sex scene