Quite good low-budget thriller from underrated director Joseph Ruben ("Dreamscape" and "True Believer") and master mystery writer Donald E. Westlake (best known for is Parker novels and screen adaptation of "The Grifters"). Terry O'Quinn plays a disturbed man who wants the perfect all-American family, white picket fence and all the trappings, but when they don't meet his exacting standards, it results in a wholesale slaughter and him assuming a new identity to start trying things over again with a new family. That's where the film starts, with Quinn cleaning himself up and changing his appearance after slaughtering his current family. We next see him with a new wife, Shelley Hack, and new stepdaughter, Jill Schoelen, who begins to suspect something is not right with her new stepdad. There's a clever bit of cat and mouse between the two as O'Quinn begins to realize that his stepdaughter may be putting the pieces together of who he really is, which leads to a bloody and pretty wild climax. "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 (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. There are certainly elements of various movies rolled up here but there's no question that the film works wonders especially with the terrific performances and some intense scenes towards the end. 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. The first time we see him we see the aftermath of his brutal murders and yet the actor is so charming in the part and so charming to his new family that you can't help but like him. O'Quinn is so believable in the part that you easily forget that you're actually watching a cold-blooded monster. Once the character begins to crack, O'Quinn doesn't miss a beat. Schoelen is also extremely good in her role and is quite believable as the teen who just knows something isn't right. Hack, Charles Lanyer and Stephen Shellen are also good in their parts.The film has some nice tension throughout and especially the finale, which packs a nice little punch. As I said, the film certainly isn't flawless as there are some pacing issues that make the film move a bit too slow but this here doesn't take away from all the good stuff. I'd also say some of the sync music score could have been thrown away. Still, THE STEPFATHER contains some terrific performances that makes it worth watching.

The Stepfather is directed by Joseph Ruben and collectively written by Carolyn Lefcourt, Brian Garfield and Donald E. Westlake. It stars Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack, Stephen Shellen and Charles Lanyer. Music is by Patrick Moraz and cinematography by John W. Lindley.Why can't they leave me alone? Joseph Ruben's film is firmly ensconced in the land of B horror cultdom, and rightly so. Some horror fans may be disappointed at the lack of brutal killings actually shown on screen, but looking beyond that expectation there beats the heart of a cynical picture. The American Dream shed of its bloody veneer, the film plants an ambiguous serial killer in the normalcy of the family life that he so craves, that is until his vision of Americana family life is not met and his dark half comes to the fore.It's a cunning picture, keeping the killer's back story shaded in grey, and Ruben smartly keeps tension simmering away to keep viewers anxiously waiting for the stepfather to crack. O'Quinn is excellent as damaged dad, intense, measured and charmingly normal when required, and then not over the top when he cracks and rants. Around him he is backed by strong turns from Schoelen, Hack and Lanyer, while Ruben's direction and Lindley's colour photography bring a credible feeling to the plot.A running sub-plot involving Shellen's grieving brother doing detective work feels a bit superfluous at times, while a nude shower scene with Schoelen is totally unnecessary. Don't get me wrong, Schoelen has a lovely body and is a very pretty girl, the actress aged 24 at the time, but she's playing a 16 year old! It just comes off as pointless titillation in a film that didn't need such tricks. Small irritants aside, The Stepfather is intelligent horror and still holding up now in this age of torture and hackville sub-genres. 7.5/10

I seen the first part of the movie before, I think it was on really late, so i had to missed the other that time.Now that seen the movie in full, I found this movie really good,I really enjoyed watching this movie, I was really into the movie, I found that movie flowed really well from start to end.There some-what tense moment, Which could be a bit more edge, it's decent, there were some nice bloody moment in this movie.I thought the ending was really good, it's shame ends up being a lie. (I know alive for next sequel) There were few thinks that really annoyed me this movie, I found what was point of those,when added nothing to the last scene and I just some other scenes a bit of a time waster.The acting was really good from everyone in the the movie, over the Mr Lock was outstanding.7 out of 10