John Locke from Lost, Admiral Pressman from Star Trek, the benevolent pacifist Alex McSween from Young Guns. All fascinating characters, all uniquely different  and all masterfully rendered real through the gifts of Terry O’Quinn.

Before all these characters became known to me, the actor—apparently a Hail Mary casting AFTER production had already started—lent his talents to a small budget thriller based on the crimes of John List.

The Stepfather. Not a box office slam upon release, it had gone on to become a cult classic, regarded in the highest esteem. It spawned two sequels and a remake (all crap, despite O’Quinn being in the first follow-up.) It tells the story of psychopath Henry Morrison, a serial killer who butchers his family, goes and fetches the morning paper and disappears into the neighbourhood, never to be seen again. Cut to sometime later and Henry is now Jerry Blake, an old-fashioned Leave it to Beaver type, who has a new lover (Shelly Hack) with a rebellious teenage daughter (Jill Schoelen) who knows something is off with this guy. The thin veneer of his happy new family soon begins to crumble and so does ‘Jerry’s’ happy go lucky mask. With his stepdaughter starting to investigate him and his former brother in law closing in, Jerry loses his shit and starts planning another new start. Can they get to the bottom of Jerry Blake before it’s too late?

This is an excellent thriller. It favours character over sensationalism. Because of this, the slasher-esque moments hit much harder than most. Scheolen’s character is the very definition of a well-written strong female character. Not the flawless, genius, unbeatable and completely un-relatable characterisations of today. An authentic, relatable character than wins in spite the confines of what she is: a troubled, smart, teenaged girl. O’Quinn’s Jerry is what sells this film in spades. His dichotomous performance effortlessly shifts between the hokey family man and unhinged psycho. His volcanic rage is terrifying when his masks slips. His MO and causality is cleverly and patiently revealed an deconstructed. It’s a riveting and deeply disturbing performance.

Some of the other side characters are less successfully rendered, giving off a movie of the week vibe that doesn’t match the efficacy of the two leads. They’re not terrible, and O’Quinn and Schoelen elevate their scenes, but the combination takes the film down a peg in my view. Also, for a film made a small budget, the cinematography is serviceable but hardly a standout.

There is a good reason this film keeps being recommended decade after decade. It’s a Masterclass in tight, effective writing and it’s two main leads sell it effortlessly. This is a deftly constructed thriller with far more virtues than flaws. Definitely one not to miss.

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Collector's Edition

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - September 10, 2024
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A

VIDEO

This 2160p native scan is advertised as being a new scan of the camera negatives. But those in the know (which I am not) claim this is same scan used in the 2010 1080p blu-ray release from Shout Factory in 2010. It’s obviously a higher resolution and looks fantastic, with heightened detail in faces, clothes, foliage. It’s grain structure is stable and unobtrusive. There is little to no artefacts, no signs of print damage or blemishes. It’s bloody awesome looking. What elevates it most noticeably is the Dolby Vision/HDR10 embellishments that make colours and highlights pop like never before. A decent job done here, folks.

AUDIO

Don’t think there is any excuse on a 4K disc not to include a surround sound mix. What we get here is a DTS-HD 2.0 stereo mix. It’s very good, balanced and intelligible, but one can’t help feeling cheated when it comes to a disc with room to provide something so much better. Disappointing.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• Commentary #1 with director Joseph Ruben.
• Commentary #2 with actress Jill Schoelen and filmmaker Jackson Stewart.
• Commentary #3 with movie critic Megan Navarro.
• Commentary #4 with movie critic Kier Gomes.

Special Features:

the 4K disc has a bunch of commentaries. The included blu-ray has a new 12 minute interview with Jill Schoelen and a previously released featurette on the production. Not too bad.

• Phantom of the Family (12:49)
• The Stepfather Chronicles (26:42)
• Image Gallery
• Trailer

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 89 mins
Director: Joseph Ruben
Writer: Carolyn Lefcourt
Cast: Terry O'Quinn; Jill Schoelen; Shelley Hack
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Tagline: he wanted a perfect family in a perfect town. But they couldn't measure up. Neither could the others
Memorable Movie Quote: "All we need is a little order around here."
Theatrical Distributor: New Century Vista Film Company
Official Site:
Release Date: June 5, 1987
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: September 10, 2024.
Synopsis: After murdering his entire family, a man marries a widow with a teenage daughter in another town and prepares to do it all over again.