Fresh
An engrossing suspense thriller that refreshingly doesn't cheat the audience in terms of valid clues and plot twists.
Variety Staff, Variety
The Stepfather
He wanted a perfect family in a perfect town. But they couldn't measure up...Neither could the others...
1987 · 1h 29m · R
Horror, Thriller
Directed by
Joseph Ruben
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The Stepfather
Overview
Seemingly mild-mannered Henry Morrison has just murdered his entire family. After adopting a new identity and skipping town, he begins building a new relationship with a widow and her teenage daughter. However, he soon begins struggling to hide his true identity and maintain a grip on reality.
Director and cast
- Joseph Ruben Director
- Terry O'Quinn as Jerry Blake
- Jill Schoelen as Stephanie Maine
- Shelley Hack as Susan
- Charles Lanyer as Dr. Bondurant
- Stephen Shellen as Jim Ogilvie
- Stephen E. Miller as Al Brennan
- Robyn Stevan as Karen
- Jeff Schultz as Paul Baker
- Lindsay Bourne as Art Teacher
- Anna Hagan as Mrs. Leitner
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
88%
Tomatometer
Rotten
One is left longing for Hitchcock's dark, daring wit and disturbingly amoral insights.
Derek Adams, Time Out
Rotten
Too often disappointingly thin.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Rotten
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.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fresh
The styling is never less than assured, and [director] Ruben knows how to put bland, unruffled surfaces to sinister Hitchcockian uses.
Pat Graham, Chicago Reader
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