the stepfather ( 1987 film )
( 1987), was offered a cameo role in this film but he turned it down .
featured in the stepfather / duet for one / wanted: dead or alive / hoosiers (1987). see more »
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the film lacks suspense. the story starts by revealing the plot to the audience within five minutes. a remake of the 1987 film by the same name, the stepfather doesn’t do much to satisfy this generation’s saw devotees .
this tepid remake of the 1987 cult classic lacks the tension and satirical undercurrents of the original .
direct download: srs - 01 - thestepfather - 1987. mp3 category: stepfather retrospective - - posted at: 2: 33am edt
the stepfather is a 2009 remake of the 1987 american thriller film of the same name. the original was directed by joseph ruben. the remake was directed by nelson mccormick. [ 1 ] the original film was shot from a script by donald westlake .
average horror film portraying yet another serial killer. the stepfather is a suspenseful, creepy and compelling film. the stepfather is a film that really goes at the heart of terror as terry o' quinn' s character murders a fatherless family before finding new families to prey. an average horror film, the stepfather is a pretty good, thrilling film with a pretty good villain, also the film is tense and creepy .
welcome to the inaugural episode of the liberal dead' s stepfather retrospective podcast series! in this episode, jeff (@ jeff _ fotd) is joined by co - host james (@ drjimmyterror) to tackle the first film in the franchise, 1987' s the stepfather .
the stepfather is, finally, only as good as its stepfather - - and dylan walsh ain' t bad .
( 1987), a pretty good thriller elevated to classic status due to a legendary performance by o’quinn .
the film was followed by a sequel stepfather ii in 1989 opening to negative reviews. another sequel stepfather iii was released in 1992 without o' quinn' s return for the character. the remake the stepfather was released in 2009 to negative reviews .
from anime to pitch - black thrillers, here' s our pick of the underappreciated movies of 1987 ...
the film was theatrically released january 23, 1987, in the united states. upon its release, the film grossed $ 2. 4 million at the box office and was well - received by critics. it has since gained a cult following and was followed by two sequels: stepfather ii (1989) and stepfather iii (1992), and a remake also called the stepfather, released on october 16, 2009 .
the film was theatrically released on january 23, 1987, in the united states by the new century vista film company. during its opening weekend, the stepfather grossed around $ 260, 587; it was released in 148 theatres and earned a total domestic gross of $ 2, 488, 740 .
although'' stepfather ii'' lacks the flawless pacing and escalating aura of menace of the 1987 cult thriller,'' the stepfather,'' it is far from a total bastardization of one of the decade' s more diabolical concepts of movie horror .
back alley doctor: the stepfather visits one at the beginning of the film, to get a new face after his escape from the institution .
like many great genre films joseph ruben’s 1987 film the stepfather was inspired by the true story of john list, a new jersey man who disappeared for several years after killing his entire family. the mood of the stepfather is very dark, but it is sprinkled with enough black humor to keep the viewer entertained. the stepfather was followed by two sequels and recently a remake was released in theatres nationwide .
even by horror - remake standards, the stepfather sets the bar for pointlessness .
woobie, destroyer of worlds: the stepfather, in the original at least .
this is a good film, i have seen this film so many times, i recommend it very much .
unexplained recovery: the stepfather obviously dies at the end of the first film, but shows up here with only a large scar where he got stabbed .
the stepfather finally dies for good, by being pushed into a wood chipper .
also starred in the film, which received critical accolades. ruben took his first and only break from film to direct for the tv series
the stepfather is a 1987 thriller film, written by esteemed crime novelist donald e. westlake and directed by joseph ruben. the film tells the story of an unnamed bluebeard serial killer obsessed with being a part of the perfect family, to such an extent that if his current family doesn' t live up to expectations, he kills them and moves onto another .
murder at the movies: the true story behind
the stepfather
- j. h. moncrieff
blood - splattered wedding dress: carol grayland at the end of the film .
ironic nursery tune: the stepfather often whistles
camptown races
after his murders .
winner :
the stepfather .
nothing beats a
gossip girl
star .
the stepfather was definitely scary, but the true story is worse. much, much worse .
the stepfather is a wonderfully creepy film that should be viewed by genre fans and single parents. perhaps a simple viewing of this particular film could keep you from choosing mr. or ms. wrong next time .
inferior sequel to am average slasher film, the stepfather ii fails at capturing the essence of what made the first one entertaining. filled with lacking suspense and thrills, the stepfather ii is a disappointment and doesn' t try to terrify the audience, most of time you feel bored, as the plot is too predictable and cliches ridden. overall, stepfather ii is a slasher flick with not a single interesting thing about it. a below average film, even by slasher film standards .
the film is referenced in the king of the hill episode
untitled blake mccormack project
.
stepford smiler: the stepfather is a very cheerful individual, unless someone makes him angry .
every car is a pinto: the stepfather destroys a car, and it explodes spectacularly .
the stepfather returned twice, in stepfather ii (1989) and in a 1992 tv movie, stepfather iii. the expected remake is on the way. donald e. westlake had nothing more to do with the series, and instead earned an oscar nomination for the grifters (1990) .
slashed throat: the stepfather kills the backalley plastic surgeon by cutting his throat open with a bonesaw .
drop the hammer: todd grayland takes the stepfather out with one, stabbing him in the chest with the claw end .
welcome back for another episode of the liberal dead' s stepfather retrospective podcast series! in this episode, jeff (@ jeff _ fotd) and james (@ drjimmyterror) move on to the second film in the franchise, 1989' s stepfather ii .
the stepfather (1987) was one of the first truly chilling horror movies i ever saw. i’ll never forget the opening sequence. terry o’quinn calmly wipes the blood off his face, changes his appearance, and walks off into the night, leaving behind his murdered wife and children .
the film ends with stephanie cutting down a birdhouse she and jerry had built .
soft glass: averted. the stepfather punches through a car window to get at a victim, cutting his hand up pretty badly and necessitating a bandage for the rest of the film .
the stepfather is a 1987 american thriller film starring terry o' quinn in the title role. it is loosely based on the life of mass murderer john list, although the plot is more commonly associated with slasher films of the era than a true story. it was directed by joseph ruben and written by donald e. westlake, from a story by westlake, carolyn lefcourt and brian garfield. this film was met with critical acclaim upon its release. the film was also followed by two sequels, released in 1989 and 1992 respectively and a remake also called the stepfather which was released on october 16, 2009 .
the stepfather was released in the year 1987, some songs of the official soundtrack are sleeping beauty by divinyls, run between the raindrops by pat benatar, gwine to rune all night (de camptown races) by terry o' quinn, i want you by john mcburnie. listen the soundtrack online !
with the headline: review / film; give me perfection or give me death .
a psychotic killer escapes from a mental hospital and assumes a false identity as a family counselor in this sequel to the 1987 horror film. the murderer soon falls in love with a beautiful woman and begins to do away anyone who might stand in the way of their relationship .
the stepfather is a 1987 american cult horror / psychological thriller film starring terry o' quinn in the title role. it is loosely based on the life of mass murderer john list. it was directed by joseph ruben and written by carolyn lefcourt (story), brian garfield (story) and donald e. westlake (also screenplay) with a rewrite by david loughery .
unlike freddy krueger or jason voorhees, the monstrous title character of the stepfather is both plausible and a rich metaphor .
the stepfather in the remake. he survives, gets away and is last seen charming another single woman with kids .
he knows too much: aside from killing those who acts as competition (like phil in the second film), or do not fit with his values like the families he butchered, or simply just get in the way, the stepfather also kill those who suspects him of being not what he initially appeared to be to tie up loose ends, such as dr. a. bondurant and james
jim
ogilvie in the first film. susan in the first film, aside from being targeted for not living up to the stepfather' s standards, nearly got offed early when she suspects something' s wrong when she discovered the stepfather quit his job several days ago without informing her and witnessed the stepfather mixed up his identities. the protagonists of films finds themselves in this predicament as well once they discovered what the stepfather' s truly is .
welcome back for the penultimate episode of the liberal dead' s stepfather retrospective podcast series! in this episode, jeff (@ jeff _ fotd) and james (@ drjimmyterror) tackle 1992' s stepfather iii .
unexplained recovery: stepfather ii ends with the family killer getting a claw hammer in the chest, which he somehow survived .
horror doesn' t settle for simple tuesday: the climax of the film takes place during a wedding .
horror doesn' t settle for simple tuesday: the opening of the film is set sometime around christmas .
studied theater and film at the university of michigan, then went on to earn a master' s degree at brandeis university. his feature film directing debut was a thriller called
“you know, a house like this should really have a family in it. ” —terry o’quinn, the stepfather
3. her body, himself: gender in the slasher film (carol j. clover )
winner :
the stepfather .
hitchcock' s' window' is a classic, but the' 80s
stepfather
starred terry o' quinn - - a. k. a. the badass locke from
lost .
the stepfather is the full package: fast - paced, well - acted, suspenseful and brimming with bursts of nasty violence .
an axe to grind: the stepfather comes close to killing his current family with one, but relents at the last minute .
o' quinn is good, but the film is quite laugable even with him in the center of it .
bread, eggs, milk, squick: non - verbal example. like in the original, the film begins with the stepfather going about his daily routine... then it reveals he' s murdered his current family .
( 1984) that began to bring to ruben the acclaim he' d pursued for so long. starring quaid as a man who can enter people' s dreams, the film won the golden raven at the brussels international festival of fantasy film, setting off a hat trick of awards - his next film ,
whatever the flaws of the stepfather, it remains a horror film with few peers, including (let’s be serious) the 2009 remake. as is so often the case, the special features on this dvd edition do just about nothing to increase one’s appreciation of the film. the commentary track pairs sycophantic, trivia - minded michael gingold of fangoria magazine with no - nonsense director joseph ruben, who seems at best irritated by gingold’s often frivolous questions. the retrospective documentary the stepfather chronicles provides some interesting background on the film, but doesn’t stray from the self - congratulatory platitudes of a typical special edition dvd documentary .
knife nut: the stepfather has used a lot of different objects to kill people, but the knife is still his prefered weapon .
winner :
the stepfather .
way scarier to have a creep in your house than to have a creep across the street .
villain protagonist: the stepfather is the real main focal point of the films, while anyone out to stop him actually qualifies as a hero antagonist .
, and the remarkably positive critical reception to the film. this just isn' t an essential listen, though .
the film was released on dvd for the first time in north america by shout! factory on october 13, 2009. shout! factory released the first - ever blu - ray version of the film on june 15, 2010 .
welcome back for the final episode of the liberal dead' s stepfather retrospective podcast series! in this episode, jeff (@ jeff _ fotd) and james (@ drjimmyterror) close out the series and take on nelson mccormick' s 2009 remake, the stepfather .
combustible celluloid review - the stepfather (1987), donald e. westlake, based on a story by carolyn lefcourt, brian garfield, donald e. westlake, joseph ruben, terry o' quinn, jill schoelen, shelley hack, charles lanyer, stephen shellen, stephen e. miller, robyn stevan, jeff schultz
make it look like an accident: the stepfather makes father brennan' s death seem like he had a car accident .
this remake turns a fondly remembered horror / thriller into a mild and tedious suspense film .
they look just like everyone else: one of the scariest things about the stepfather is that he looks and acts like a normal guy .
no name given: it' s never stated what the stepfather' s real name is. he even wonders which man is supposed to be towards the end of the film. this is what ultimately causes him to kill his current family .
as for female sexual propriety, the stepfather presents both susan and stephanie as the sexual beings all humans are, and it is jerry’s attempt to quell that reality of stephanie’s existence that turns the women against the patriarch. the stepfather finally sends sexualized women running, knives in hand, after the masked monster .
for his performance, o' quinn was nominated for both a saturn and an independent spirit award. director ruben was honored with the critics award at the 1988 cognac festival. the film was also nominated for the international fantasy film award for best film at the 1990 fantasporto and included in bravo' s 100 scariest movie moments on spot # 70 .
the first film was famous for putting terry o quinn on the map, with even roger ebert raving about his acting .
every car is a pinto: the stepfather pushes father brennan' s car over a cliff, and it explodes on impact .
a truly great film that deserves it cult status. fantastic acting from all involved, and a truly gripping film. delivery was prompt and the product in good condition. totally worth both the money and a watch .
that’s what makes the stepfather movie so terrifying. imagine if john list’s new family kept disappointing him in the same way his “old” family did .
dropped a bridge on him: james
jim
ogilvie, who' s been treated as a major character in the first film, gets killed off unceremoniously in the climax and treated as another red shirt on the stepfather' s bodycount following that .
o' quinn is absolutely brilliant in this film. seriously, this is a fantastic movie .
infant immortality: averted in the first few minutes of the film, as a butchered body of a little girl is shown .
kathryn bigelow' s 1987 film is an unbelievably moody, stylish vampire - western hybrid that' s as romantic as it is tense, and features a number of cast members (lance henriksen, jenette goldstein and bill paxton) from her future husband (er, ex - husband) james cameron' s aliens .
a logical and just as worthy sequel in the stepfather series. terry o' quinn is back as the menacing family - killing stepfather figure. this time around, he has a stepson (jonathan brandis of neverending story 2 fame !) the wedding reception end battle is great .
this film was met with critical acclaim upon its release. the film was also followed by two sequels, released in 1989 and 1992 respectively and a remake which was released on october 16, 2009. the film was released on dvd for the first time in north america by shout! factory on october 13, 2009. [ 2 ]
terry o’quinn’s schizophrenic performance is what elevates the stepfather a notch above the typical thriller. he goes from unnerving to terrifying in no time flat. his…
master of disguise: the stepfather has the tendency to alter his appearance and change his name when it comes to finding a new family after killing the last one .
[ … ] by jerry at many turns throughout the film, is also a sub - textual nod to a profound reversion of a patriarchal predominance, one which looms over the film and certainly taints many films in the 80s horror tradition. the [ … ]
this film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are. see what’s now showing
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
the stepfather
tells his story in a blood - soaked thriller that is uneven but haunting. while i was watching the film, i was distracted by elements of the idiot plot syndrome - moments when only an idiot would have made such obvious mistakes. now, remembering the film several weeks after first seeing it, what i recall most clearly is the central performance by terry o' quinn .
direct download: srs - 03 - stepfather3. mp3 category: stepfather retrospective - - posted at: 11: 00am edt
direct download: srs - 02 - stepfather2. mp3 category: stepfather retrospective - - posted at: 4: 29pm edt
after escaping the insane asylum in which he was incarcerated, the stepfather impersonates a marriage counselor and manages to win over a patient and her young son .
drop the hammer: annoyed with his wife, the stepfather moves in to bash her brains with one, but is stopped by the last minute by two potential witnesses .
even with the lackluster special features, this dvd release of the stepfather proves again the special talent shout! factory has for going under the radar to find gems other distributors would be too quick to call dated. indeed, the stepfather is a product of its time. when better to communicate the horrors of conservative family values than in the twilight of the reagan administration ?
the film has received generally negative reviews. review aggregator rotten tomatoes reports that 11% of 56 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 3. 4 out of 10. the site' s general consensus is that
this tepid remake of the 1987 cult classic lacks the tension and satirical undercurrents of the original .
[ 5 ] on metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 1–100 reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 33 based on 11 reviews. [ 6 ] kevin thomas of the los angeles times wrote of the film being
a piece, a handsome, thoughtfully crafted production that generates a mounting terror securely anchored by assured performances, consistent psychological persuasiveness and believable dialogue .
[ 7 ]
one of the best pieces left behind by the late mystery writer donald westlake was a story called
the stepfather ,
which in 1987 joseph ruben made into one of the most frightening films i' ve ever seen. its camera stared closely at a pleasant, gracious gentleman long enough to record his growth into a seasonal monster who destroyed families when they ceased to trust him, and hence to fit his ideal .
there isn’t much of a gore score in the stepfather, but don’t let that keep you from viewing the film. when jerry lashes out and starts showing his true side it does get quite violent. the death toll also isn’t all that high; in fact only two deaths are seen on screen. the stepfather isn’t about blood and gore to get its frights from the viewer though, its all about the mood and atmosphere and the movie just oozes with it .
if you are looking to watch the film, or any of the others in the series, you can help support the show by purchasing or renting it from amazon .
not so much a contemporary re - make of joseph ruben' s 1987 psychological thriller as a lobotomised bastard step - child: over - plotted, over - long, and stripped of the original' s sharp, satirical subversion of suburban family values .
for his performance, o' quinn was nominated for both a saturn and an independent spirit award. director ruben was honored with the critics award at the 1988 cognac festival. [ 5 ] the film was also nominated for the international fantasy film award for best film at the 1990 fantasporto [ 6 ] and included in bravo' s 100 scariest movie moments on spot # 70. [ 7 ]
continuity nod: the stepfather mentioning he once worked in real estate, and later, during a freak out, he starts screaming
who am i here? ! who am i here? !
the asylum he was placed in stepfather ii is also mentioned in a news broadcast .
the film was distributed by screen gems. [ 3 ] filming was completed on april 15, 2008. [ 4 ]
editor barry keith grant is director of the film studies program at brock university in st. catharines, ontario, canada .
the stepfather is a 1987 american psychological horror thriller film directed by joseph ruben and starring terry o' quinn, jill schoelen and shelley hack. o' quinn stars as henry morrison, an identity - assuming serial killer who remarries a widow with a teenage daughter. after previously killing his family and changing his identity, his killing spree continues after his stepdaughter becomes suspicious about him. it is loosely based on the life of mass murderer john list, although the plot is more commonly associated with slasher films of the era than a true story. the film was written by donald e. westlake, from a story by westlake, carolyn lefcourt and brian garfield .
the stepfather (the 1987 version) is not like most slasher films; it is a uniquely feminist horror film. carol j. clover’s theory of the “final girl” *, the trope in horror cinema that leaves one unique girl as the sole survivor, is brilliant and generally accurate. but our heroine, stephanie, is not like other final girls. for one, she is one of the only girls in the film. the film is full of empty, impotent signifiers of male power: the male lieutenant, the male therapist, the male high school teacher, the male hero / amateur detective, the male reporter and, of course, stephanie’s dead father. more importantly, throughout the duration of this film no women are killed. let me repeat that: no women are killed. it may not be obvious to some viewers, but it is strikingly obvious to me, a feminist who loves horror films. when the film opens, jerry (or henry morrison, his identity before jerry) has already killed his previous family, which we know contained a wife and at least one daughter, but during the film only men are slaughtered. they are men who attempt to rescue stephanie and her mother susan, but the only person who actually rescues stephanie is stephanie .
the makeup artist for the stepfather also gets a nod from me. we see jerry transform into a different human being twice in the film (for a total of three different appearances) and he never looks quite the same each time. in fact during the last transformation he actually appears to be a much older man .
adaptational villainy: the stepfather, who comes across as much more of a cold - blooded sociopath in the remake compared to his predecessor, who was probably insane .
there' s a shot towards the end of the film where several vampires run from the protection of car in slow - motion. it still has the power to chill the blood even after multiple viewings. near dark is a classic film, and one well worth tracking down on blu - ray .
never trust a trailer: that awesome swinging buzzsaw scene that was in all the trailers and tv spots? its completely absent from the film .
horror doesn' t settle for simple tuesday: not counting the prologue, stepfather iii begins on easter, and ends on father' s day .
this list shows all films released in 1987, including films that went direct - to - video, or only got an international theatrical release. for each film, we use the first date on which it was made available to the public, which might include international theatrical or domestic video releases that were a few days, or sometimes more, earlier than the domestic (us / canada) theatrical release .
released by new century vista film company in june, the film eked out a total of just under $ 2. 5 million in its theatrical release, despite some glowing reviews from critics. it fared better on home video, with the suburbia soaked atmosphere playing perfectly to the manicured lawns and white picket fences crowd. if you were, are, or will be a teenaged suburbanite, the stepfather is for you. (having a murderous parent is not necessary to enjoy the film, but i suppose it would add a little resonance. )
the stepfather .
we want to give the new flick the benefit of the doubt. that, and we just can' t get behind
disturbia ,
arguably the movie that made labeouf a star .
direct download: srs - 04 - thestepfather - 2009. mp3 category: stepfather retrospective - - posted at: 11: 00am edt
upon revisiting the stepfather (in preparation for watching the sequels for the first time), i can' t help but feel as though this movie is a bit over - rated .
peter jackson' s splatter - ific calling card, this gonzo 1987 effort is nominally concerned with a small new zealand town under siege from aliens, but it' s really about the insanely gory, over - the - top b - movie special effects that jackson created on his own .
during its opening weekend, the stepfather grossed around $ 260, 587; it was released in 148 movie theatres and earned a total domestic gross of $ 2, 488, 740. [ 1 ] film critic roger ebert from the chicago sun times gave the movie 2. 5 stars, and commented :
mysterious past: four films and the stepfather still doesn' t have an origin... or even a real name. closest we get is doctor danvers calling him
bill krieger
in the second film, though they don' t actually outright state if that' s his real name, or an old alias. the stepfather also apparently tells danvers about his past... offscreen... he also could have been lying .
the actors in the film do a nice job at portraying the film’s simple characters, even though the thin story does not push the characters very far. familiar faces like t. v. ’s walsh and badgley are pretty faces with talent, but decent acting doesn’t go far to save what is ultimately a stale story .
overprotective dad: when the stepfather sees his stepdaughter stephanie kissing a boy named paul he completely freaks out, claiming paul was going to try and rape stephanie .
the stepfather has an 86% approval rating from rotten tomatoes and an average rating of 6. 7 / 10 out of 29 reviews. film critic roger ebert, from the chicago sun times, gave the movie 2. 5 stars out of 4, and commented :
violence itself seems to sell at the box office, even when it' s divorced from any context. maybe that' s what the filmmakers were thinking. what often happens, though, is that in an otherwise flawed film there are a couple of things that are wonderful. the stepfather has one wonderful element: terry o' quinn' s performance .
ebiri: exactly. the central relationship between the sisters in this film is so involving, even tender, that it’s hard to step back and get any kicks from the genre elements in this film. it’s really a tragedy, and when i first saw it, years ago, the final shot absolutely wiped the floor with me .
i have many names: there is no way of telling what the stepfather' s real name is, or which one of them he believes it to be .
standard' 50s father: the stepfather seems to think of himself as this, and at one point is explicitly compared to ward cleaver from leave it to beaver .
like many of the best comedies and tragedies, this weimar - era silent film understands how each mode is often a hair' s breadth from the other .
this entry' s a little bit of a cheat, because the stepfather was actually shot in 1985 and shelved for two years. but going by its year of release, this taut little thriller still qualifies as a 1987 movie. the plot sounds like your typical
killer in our midst
fare; a middle - aged maniac goes from place to place, starting new families under assumed names before offing them all horribly after a couple of weeks have passed .
ebiri: i also like the tension between the three leads: for me, their mounting anger at each other and fear of their surroundings really drives the film’s scares, putting the lie to the misguided notion that it’s all gimmick. that said, the gimmick is pretty great, even though it’s also kind of a ripoff of an earlier, inferior film called the last broadcast .
“wait a minute... who am i here? ” is the central question posed by jerry blake in the 1987 slasher film, the stepfather. it is a story of patriarchy in crisis. in a world in which “traditional” and “old fashioned” (both characteristics attributed to jerry) notions of male dominance and the nuclear family are thoroughly challenged, the patriarchal order is undergoing a desperate identity crisis. the film is about a man who marries into a family that eventually disappoints him by not living up to his expectations of the perfect family, so he kills them and moves on to another town and another family. in the stepfather, it is patriarchy that is broken and unable to find a reality in which its conceptualization of self exists. without the structural order “the father” is accustomed to, he simply does not know who he is, and rather than deal with this and evolve, he chooses to deny reality, destroy it, and recreate it in his own image, which, ultimately, always fails .
while i was watching the film, i was distracted by elements of the idiot plot syndrome - - moments when only an idiot would have made such obvious mistakes .
but not too gay: its only pretty close to the end of the film that we realize jackie and leah are lovers, and not just roommates or something .
indeed, what makes the stepfather so compelling is that it starts from a simple truth about human life (the everyday lives we lead are performances) and takes it to a horrifying though honest extreme. unlike freddy krueger or jason voorhees, the monstrous title character of the stepfather is both plausible and a rich metaphor for the danger of traditional patriarchy in a world largely trying to move beyond that tradition .
the viewer knows from the beginning that stephanie’s suspicions are well founded—this is a suspense film, not a mystery. the film’s opening sequence lets the viewer in on the title character’s secret by showing o’quinn tie all the potential loose ends at the scene of his most recent crime. he has killed his family in their idyllic suburban home and is subtly changing his appearance to start anew somewhere else .
cool old guy: father brennan, who shares andy' s interest in solving mysteries, and even starts helping him to find info on his stepfather .
i will start this review by saying that the beginning sequence in joseph ruben’s the stepfather is probably one of the most disturbing sequences i have ever seen in a movie. the beginning of the film simply shows henry starting to clean himself up; at the beginning of the film he wears glasses and has longer hair and a beard. the hair is cut and the beard is shaved off all while henry looks in the mirror. after cleaning himself up the man walks down stairs where we see his families murdered bodies scattered around the room, he walks past them and calmly makes his way out of the door. trust me the scene is way creepier than i could ever describe it .
an undying procession of sons of dracula and daughters of darkness has animated the horror film genre from the beginning. indeed, in this pioneering exploration of the cinema of fear, barry keith grant and twenty other film critics posit that horror is always rooted in gender, particularly in anxieties about sexual difference and gender politics .
* for more on the final girl theory, see men, women, and chainsaws: gender in the modern horror film by carol j. clover. it rocks .
red herring: mark wraynal. we' re briefly lead to believe he' s the stepfather, but it turns out to be keith, who kills him via ...
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. what a space it opens…
bread, eggs, milk, squick: non - verbal example. the movie begins with the stepfather going about his daily routine... then it reveals he' s murdered his current family .
the only halloween film to not feature michael myers—it was intended to turn the franchise into more of an anthology - style series– season of the witch (about a conspiracy involving halloween masks) remains a uniquely unsettling stand - alone film in an e. c. comics - by - way - of - john - carpenter tradition .
the film that launched the career of michael rooker, john mcnaughton' s seminal 1986 serial - killer film takes a gritty, no - frills docudrama approach to its story (based on real - life convict henry lee lucas) about a psycho and his partner - in - crime acting on their murderous impulses .
ebiri: reportedly, the tensions were very real behind the camera as well, and rumors abound that spielberg directed as much, if not more, of the film as hooper did. and, of course, it’s been copied many times since — what is insidious but basically just a more spiritual variation on this film’s main conceit ?
all the same, the film is by no means a perfect feminist rallying cry. for one thing, it' s subtler than a rallying cry would be. susan does choose to let the thoroughly conservative jerry into her family, after all—he didn’t force himself in. more damningly, though, the stepfather plays up many shots of the women (especially stephanie) for sex appeal. although stephanie spends the whole film in quaint, delightful sweaters, neither she nor her mother ever seem to wear bras or anything else beneath their sweaters, so little is left to the imagination. likewise, the camera lingers gratuitously upon nude jill schoelen in a shower scene (to the film’s credit, terry o’quinn is likewise shown completely nude in an earlier shower scene) .
terry o' quinn, who portrayed the stepfather in the first two installments of the series, was approached by director nelson mccormick to appear in the remake, but according to producer mark morgan, o' quinn turned down the offer. [ 10 ] [ 11 ]
this list initially ran on october 29, 2013. also, read bilge ebiri’s essay on why mulholland drive is a great horror film .
fight syphilis! (1944) from your war department comes this vd film. keep your junk clean kids! or something like that .
violence itself seems to sell at the box office, even when it' s divorced from any context. maybe that' s what the filmmakers were thinking. what often happens, though, is that in an otherwise flawed film there are a couple of things that are wonderful .
the stepfather
has one wonderful element: terry o' quinn' s performance .
ebiri: every other scene with the family in this film is like a folgers coffee ad gone horribly wrong. it’s interesting how the darkly comic quality of films like the stepfather (and a couple of other films on our list) eventually transmutated into the slick, “jokey, ” wink - wink style of later horror. there was a pointedness to these films’ humor that’s been lost in translation .
violence itself seems to sell at the box office, even when it' s divorced from any context. maybe that' s what the filmmakers were thinking. what often happens, though, is that in an otherwise flawed film there are a couple of things that are wonderful. the stepfather has one wonderful element: terry o' quinn' s performance. [ 3 ]
by the time jerry utters his pivotal question, “who am i here? ” during the suspenseful (but sort of routine) slasher finale, we realize we already know the answer: one of the greatest actors to grace a horror film, playing an all - timer in the deranged hall of fame. the stepfather isn’t perfect, and neither is jerry; but they both build a pretty good birdhouse. and like the sweetest bird, terry o’quinn can sing .
something of a cult - classic nowadays, the stepfather, released in 1987, was made during a time when hollywood wasn’t afraid to release r - rated horror movies. most modern genre fodder comes bloodless and with a pg - 13 prerequisite, because after all, there’s box - office numbers to consider and young teens love their body count fare. but here’s a movie that represents exactly what ‘80s horror was all about, while also furnishing a (ironically) satisfying experience, unlike its comparatively shoddy 2009 remake .
the only gruesome part of this film is a dead body found in the family’s freezer, an image which lasts all of five seconds. the rest of the movie drags on because knowing the plot only makes one wonder why the characters are so dumb at figuring it out .
a moment near the end of 1987’s the stepfather crystallizes the elusive fantasy that motivates jerry blake, the damnably old - fashioned serial killer of the title. played with deranged wholesomeness by terry o’quinn, a great character actor who most will recognize as locke on lost, jerry moves from one tree - lined, family - friendly town to another, searching for single mothers in need of a decent, hard - working husband to stabilize the house. as one family situation falls apart, jerry creates a new identity (along with a convincing disguise) and begins setting up shop elsewhere, then slaughters the women and children who have so bitterly disappointed him .
the main reason i' m writing anything here is because of my excitement regarding this song by stunt rock, there are tons of audio clips from films and when the opening lines from the song were spoken in the stepfather, i had a mini - freakout .
( 1980), working again with quaid. about a madcap bunch of waiters, the film didn' t make much of an impression on critics or the movie going public. it was
a misfire because it obviously tries to take advantage of its predecessor. the psychotic killer from the first film starts the same routine all over again by posing as a marriage counselor and preying on unsuspecting divorcees and widows .
. what frustrated me about it more than anything, though, was that the original movie was only available on dvd. i mean, it seemed like movie marketing 101... let the oversized hollywood studio make their glossy, double - digit iq remake, and the smaller shop rides the other guys' marketing budget by re - releasing the original at the same time. i get it now, though. shout! factory wasn' t leaving money on the table by holding off on releasing the 1987 take on
find the answers to these burning questions here - along with talk of the film' s history and origins, its critical reception, and its place in pop culture and the franchise. as always, the guys give you their unfiltered opinions .
call back: the film has a lot of references to the original. surprising, considering it was made by the same people who brought us the when a stranger calls and prom night remakes, both of which are borderline in name only .
amateur sleuth: james
jim
ogilvie has no formal law enforcement or investigation training, but spent a good chunk of the first movie following the stepfather' s trail from town to town to apprehend his sister' s killer outside of the law .
ebiri: the film supposedly presents the gradual decaying of his reality, but sometimes i wonder if it isn’t all a hallucination from the get - go. watch the ease with which he seduces the beautiful debbie harry on a tv talk show; cronenberg’s vision of the video revolution is really that of a wish fulfillment fantasy gone berserk. the more we want to enter the dreamlife of the video image, the more it wants to enter us. the fact that the film has since dated somewhat, with all those awful analog tv signals and rows and rows of videotapes, now just adds to the discomfiting otherworldliness .
bruce kawin tells us that
a good horror film takes you down into the depths and shows you something about the landscape .
landscape, of course, accommodates multiple perspectives. in the end, the differences of critical opinion in this book mirror the confusion over difference itself that informs our culture at this point in history. yet at the same time this critical difference reveals the health and vitality that has been characteristic of the horror film and our thinking about it for the last thirty years. today gender roles are being tested, challenged, and redefined everywhere, and until such time as difference is no longer dreaded, this crucial aspect of the horror film will remain very important for us .
the craziest possession film ever–and potentially the craziest film ever–andrzej zulawski' s relationship drama charts the disintegration of a marriage between a spy (sam neill) and his wife (isabelle adjani), who' s soon sleeping with a tentacled monster. in the signature scene, adjani writhes around a subway station floor while miscarrying. as i' ve said before, it has to be seen to be believed .
you can' t have a
movie convention
without them, can you? absolutely not! and we plan on showing plenty of films on both 16mm film and video at cinema wasteland - many of which may be hosted by the stars and directors appearing as guests at the show. our evening film show is free to all attendees and hotel guests .
throughout the film, jerry has been making a birdhouse – a miniature version of his idea of the perfect home. susan and stephanie help jerry erect it mid - way through the film, and we are given a distorted shot from the top of the birdhouse, looking down, emphasizing how high and unreachable jerry’s idea of family really is. in the closing scene of the film, stephanie cuts the birdhouse down. we see it lying in the foreground while stephanie and her mother walk arm - in - arm, happy and complete, back into their home. they do not relocate as many families in horror films do after tragedy because of the symbolic significance of reclaiming their house, their structure. the film shows us that these two women are a complete family. they do not need a patriarch, and they do not need the conventional notion of the nuclear family to be happy – in fact, they are better off without it .
the book begins with three landmark accounts of the horror film in the context of gender that have influenced the scope of contemporary critical debate, including much of the subsequent work included in this volume. collected in part one, these three essays, following upon laura mulvey' s groundbreaking 1975 essay
visual pleasure and narrative cinema ,
share a concern with the gendered dynamics of looking in the horror film. linda williams' s
when the woman looks
examines mulvey' s notion of narrative film as articulating a controlling male gaze in the context of the horror film specifically. her suggestion that there is a sympathetic alignment between the monster' s gaze and that of the female spectator is echoed by barbara creed, who employs julia kristeva' s notion of abjection as it relates to the horror film, especially in terms of monstrous images of the maternal. carol clover reexamines those assumptions concerning the supposed masculine essence of horror in the context of the slasher subgenre. her emphasis on the fluidity of point of view and spectator identification is informed by more recent theory that has moved beyond the binary gender determinism of mulvey' s model and argues that these movies, which previously had been understood as particularly misogynist, might indeed hold some value for feminism.
the stepfather is a 1987 american psychological horror thriller film directed by joseph ruben and starring terry o'quinn , jill schoelen and shelley hack . o'quinn stars as henry morrison , an identity-assuming serial killer who remarries a widow with a teenage daughter . after previously killing his family and changing his identity , his killing spree continues after his stepdaughter becomes suspicious about him . it is loosely based on the life of mass murderer john list , although the plot is more commonly associated with slasher films of the era than a true story . the film was written by donald e. westlake , from a story by westlake , carolyn lefcourt and brian garfield . the film was theatrically released january 23 , 1987 , in the united states . upon its release , the film grossed $ 2.4 million at the box office and was well-received by critics . it has since gained a cult following and was followed by two sequels : stepfather ii ( 1989 ) and stepfather iii ( 1992 ) , and a remake also called the stepfather , released on october 16 , 2009 . 
the stepfather is a 1987 american psychological horror thriller film directed by joseph ruben and starring terry o'quinn, jill schoelen and shelley hack. o'quinn stars as henry morrison, an identity-assuming serial killer who remarries a widow with a teenage daughter. after previously killing his family and changing his identity, his killing spree continues after his stepdaughter becomes suspicious about him. it is loosely based on the life of mass murderer john list, although the plot is more commonly associated with slasher films of the era than a true story. the film was written by donald e. westlake, from a story by westlake, carolyn lefcourt and brian garfield. the film was theatrically released january 23, 1987, in the united states. upon its release, the film grossed $ 2.4 million at the box office and was well-received by critics. it has since gained a cult following and was followed by two sequels: stepfather ii (1989) and stepfather iii (1992), and a remake also called the stepfather, released on october 16, 2009.
the stepfather is a 1987 american psychological horror thriller film directed by joseph ruben and starring terry o'quinn, jill schoelen and shelley hack. o'quinn stars as henry morrison, an identity-assuming serial killer who remarries a widow with a teenage daughter. after previously killing his family and changing his identity, his killing spree continues after his stepdaughter becomes suspicious about him. it is loosely based on the life of mass murderer john list, although the plot is more commonly associated with slasher films of the era than a true story. the film was written by donald e. westlake, from a story by westlake, carolyn lefcourt and brian garfield. the film was theatrically released january 23, 1987, in the united states. upon its release, the film grossed $ 2.4 million at the box office and was well-received by critics. it has since gained a cult following and was followed by two sequels: stepfather ii (1989) and stepfather iii (1992), and a remake also called the stepfather, released on october 16, 2009.