1987 | U.S./U.K. | 89 minutes
Director: Joseph Ruben
Writer: Donald E. Westlake
Cast: Terry O’Quinn, Shelley Hack, Jill Schoelen, Charles Lanyer, Stephen Shellen
Distributor: New Century
Cdn video distributor: Shout Factory
The 1980s were a popular time for slasher films but, by the late 1980s, the formula of gory death at the hands of some faceless fiend was getting quite tiresome and boring. The Stepfather stands out as a remarkable exception, not just for its more psychological focus — and minimal bloodletting — but for its unique reflection of American culture at the time.
In 1987 Ronald Reagan was still in the White House, and the predominate image of the typical American showed him with a Bible in one hand, and a gun in the other. The Republicans and various hardcore Christian groups (seeking greater political power) basically joined forces, swapped ideals, and created a schizophrenic beast called the Religious Right. It was a movement unafraid of aggressive action and it scared the bejesus out of many. You didn’t want to piss them off.
Just like Terry O’Quinn‘s title character in The Stepfather.
On the surface Jerry seems like a terrific man. He meets a lonely widow with a teenage daughter, and he quickly brings comfort to their lives. He has a job, he pays the bills, and he has no shortage of love to give them. But the first scene tells the audience something his new family is not privy to — he is actually a serial killer.
Jerry’s pattern is always the same. He marries into a ready-made family (usually a widow with kids) and when they fail to behave as perfectly as he expects them to, to sets up a new life with another family, before slaughtering the previous one. Game over — reset — start again.
The best thing about the film is Terry O’Quinn‘s performance. When he’s in “family man” mode, he is convincingly charming. But just a tad too convincing. Just enough to make the daughter of his latest family (Jill Schoelen) wisely suspicious. There’s something not quite right, and she knows it. For awhile she probes and investigates — she even witnesses some startling violent streaks in her new stepfather that should confirm her worse fears — but the evidence never matches up, and she eventually grows to love this seemingly gentle man who is constantly emphasizing the importance of family and its values. How sweet.
As viewers we accept and understand her transformation — largely on the strength on O’Quinn’s dual-personality performance — but we also know it will make her more vulnerable to the violence that is sure to come.
There are also a couple of supporting performances that help the story along, like the Mom played by Shelley Hack. Hack is most famed as one of Charlie’s Angels in its last season. Her good-girl persona is just the type Jerry would go for. There is also the daughter’s therapist, played with great soothing authority by Charles Lanyer. He’s the only character who brings a true father-figure comfort to the daughter, and he eventually consents to investigate her suspicions. Thanks to his character’s psychological training, he quickly sees the “family values” hot buttons Jerry wears, and he cleverly starts pushing them. Unfortunately he’s not prepared for the wrath it eventually brings forth.
The weakest character is played by Stephen Shellen — but it’s the script’s fault, not the actor’s. He’s the brother of Jerry’s latest victim who pops up in various unrelated scenes, vents his anger, and then disappears again from the story. His presence is only so he can show up in the final scene; a scene that is perhaps the least interesting as it resorts to final confrontation cliches that are much too typical of the slasher/thriller genre.
The joy of this film remains Terry O’Quinn. Until The Stepfather he never had much of an opportunity to stretch his wings, and it wasn’t until Lost that he was finally given a wider audience to strut his stuff. He is a treasure that deserves greater appreciation.
Until now most have never seen The Stepfather because its North American rights have been in limbo for over a decade. The film was produced by the British company ITC Entertainment, and the rights eventually made its way to Granada. But they didn’t have North American rights, so the film never made its way to dvd here.
Shout Factory is the company that is finally releasing it here — obviously to capitalize on the upcoming remake — but they are a company with some questionable practices. All of the releases I’ve seen from them have been from inferior masters (e.g. Elvira’s Movie Macabre) so I’m suspicious of the quality of this release as well (I have only screened the vhs version, as well as a Region 2 import).
But this edition does promise an audio commentary with director Joseph Ruben, as well as an all-new retrospective documentary entitled “The Stepfather Chronicles.” Plus I know decent video masters exist in Beta-SP (an analogue format). There’s no way Shout could have access to original materials, so expect to see the occasional blip in the image and a general softness in details.
As for the remake, the trailer suggests it still stubbornly clings to the horror conventions that never worked well in the original. At least the 1987 version avoided the gore element, with most of its killings occurring off-screen. Hopefully the remake will embrace this tactic.
In this new Obama era, it’s also questionable that the title character’s “family values” obsession will resonate with modern audiences anymore, or that Jon Tenney can bring the necessary believability the title role demands. But in the absence of comparison, which most have been incapable of doing until now, there is the inherent uniqueness to the story that might still appeal.
- Theatrical release date: January 23, 1987
- Video release date: October 13, 2009
- Production Budget: n/a
- Worldwide Box Office: $2,488,740
FUN ALTERNATIVE: The Collector (1965) is another great chiller that chronicles the lengths to which a man will go to secure love. Here he takes the literal approach.
Terence Stamp plays Freddie Clegg, a reclusive young man who hatches a unique plan. There’s a pretty young girl in town named Miranda (Samantha Eggar) who he desires to be with. So what does he do? He kidnaps her and then keeps her prisoner in his home. His plan? In time he hopes she will come to love him, whereupon they can live happily ever after.
Obviously Freddie has no concept of the dating process.
Miranda knows she can’t possibly love this creep, but what’s a girl to do? With shackled hands she eventually attempts intimate contact — it’s her only chance for escape — but her heart is not into it. He knows it, too.
Back to her basement prison she goes.
In time Miranda — and the viewer — come to realize the impossibility of her situation, and it is at this point that the film is at its most chilling. Rarely has a film captured such a deep level of bleakness, despair and injustice.
The film was directed by William Wyler who has made an impressive assortment of blockbuster epics: Ben-Hur, Roman Holiday, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Big Country, Funny Girl. All possess a sweet and romantic quality that audiences found heart-warming. The Collector was nothing like this. At the time of its release it was horrifying and perverted, and generally nasty. Some were appalled, but as powerful drama, few films can match it.