Can you keep a good stepfather down, despite him being shot and stabbed in the heart multiple times? Of course not. That's why even if Terry O'Quinn isn't coming back, his character definitely will in this made for HBO movie.Yes, Gene Clifford has survived being stabbed with a clawhammer in the heart and went right back into the same mental institution in Puget Sound. And he escapes it all over again, finding a back alley surgeon to change his appearance, all with no anesthesia, before killing that very same doctor.Oh yeah - now the stepfather is played by Robert Wightman, who is best known for taking over the role of John-Boy Walton from Richard Thomas.Now, he's Keith Grant, a gardener who dresses up as the Easter Bunny for a church party. There, he meets Christine Davis (Priscilla Barnes from TV's Three's Company) and her son Andy, who has been in a wheelchair since an accident. He even takes care of Christine's psycho ex, Mark, by killing him with a shovel. Once that body is buried in the garden, Keith is free to marry Christine and Andy goes away to stay with his dad, Steve.It turns out that Christine can't have children any longer, so Keith begins courting another woman, Jennifer (Season Hubley, Vice Squad) and her son Nicholas. His boss totally picks up on this, so that guy has to die.Andy is back home and he's well versed in true crime. So he starts researching Keith and his history. He's surprised when his new dad misidentifies him as Nicholas, so the typical stepfather behavior has started as he begins forgetting his identity and killing anyone who learns the truth, like that troublemaking priest!Will the stepfather find true love? Will Andy walk again? Can even the stepfather survive falling into a woodchipper? All of these questions and probably a few more will be answered by the end of this movie.If you watch this movie without looking at the screen, you may think that Terry O'Quinn is still in it. The voice is very close. But once you watch it, the acting isn't as good. In fact, Wightman is quite wooden, particularly in a sex scene with Barnes where she's sweaty and super into it. I don't mean that as a pun. But sure, you can take it that way.Andy is also the exact opposite - overacted to the extreme and given to fits of screaming. There's a near hilarious scene where they attempt to play football together that had me laughing in a completely inappropriate way. At least there's plenty of gore to make up for all the cheese.

**This review may contain spoilers** Even though this movie is the weakest in the series I would say I walked into this movie with almost no expectations whatsoever and it surprised me. The Stepfather has now gone through plastic surgery and is searching for a new "perfect" family. This felt like a rehash of the first movie since it's almost the same story except for the plastic surgery involved in the plot.Terry O'Quinn is replaced by Robert Wightman and this is what's probably the biggest problem with the movie. He's nowhere near as good as Terry O'Quinn but he keeps getting better the longer into the movie you get (when he plays the "nice" Stepfather is the weakest part of the movie but when he plays the "evil" Stepfather he does a really great job). The supporting cast is probably the best part of the movie and the actress who carries this movie on her shoulders is Priscilla Barnes, she gives her all in this movie and she does a really great job. Another character I was very fond of was Father Brennan played by John Ingle, he was very likable and funny at times as one of the most down to earth preachers I've seen on film. A surprise for me was the character of Andy portrayed excellent by David Tom (espesially during the more emotional scenes).The soundtrack is good and you can sort of hear the theme from the previous two films in the series within this theme if you listen very closely.For a made for TV movie Stepfather 3 was great, even though it's the worst in the series I can recommend it if you enjoyed the first two. 6/10 stars from me.

I know it seems kind of dishonest to comment on a movie if you haven't seen it all the way through, but trust me on this one, kids...you don't need to see this turkey all the way through to know how bad it truly is. I pride myself on being pretty knowledgeable about good movies and even good BAD movies, and this is no PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE. At least that was entertaining in its own genuinely loopy way. They should feature this movie in a class on how NOT to write a screenplay. You can see foreshadowing from a hundred miles away, and plot points fall into place with all the subtlety of an anvil falling on Wile E. Coyote's noggin. Case in point: the mean, stalkerish ex-hubby vs. our title character. The only way you wouldn't know how that bout would end up, is if you've NEVER SEEN A MOVIE BEFORE! And the whole thing with 'Bad Ex' threatening good ol' 'Stepfather,' as he's turning his flower bed with a BIG shovel??? The filmmakers must've thought the only people more stupid than the jerky ex, would be the audience. And they'd be absolutely right...if you bothered watching this dog turd beyond this point, which I'm happy to say I didn't.Had I paid for the rental, I may have bitten the bullet to get my money's worth out of it, but it was on Showtime late night. Meaning I could channel surf over to a really GOOD movie, even one that's been on about a thousand times. Like the first NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, which I'm sure I've seen about a thousand times and still enjoyed it.Well, thanks to STEPFATHER 3, make that a thousand and one.So, if you want to respect yourself in the morning, do what Terry O'Quinn did way before me. Skip this mess. And if you see it sitting next to MALICE, or JURRASIC PARK or even PLAN NINE at the video store, and nothing else is in, do yourself a favor...RENT THE OTHER MOVIE.

Ok! 1 was great, 2 was ok, but this one is pushing it a bit far. Obviously Terry O'quinn didn't want to do this so they made up the storyline that the stepfather had his face changed so that he could go on with his murderous ways. With an annoying wheelchair-bound son to boot, we recommended surfing right past this film.