Stepfather

Though a lot of the elements were typical and expected in this movie, it still held interest and had a few good 'gotcha' moments. However, as it neared the end, it seemed that the editor just hacked together an ending to shorten the movie down because it was in danger of actually being two hours long. In fact, one of the coolest terror scenes in the trailer was when the circular saw falls from the attic and dangles over the girlfriend, (like Vincent Price's Pit and the Pendulum) but guess what? It's NOT in the movie. I was ticked off. Now, I know some scenes are in a trailer and don't make it to the final cut, but come on! It's the last shots in the trailer and the most terrifyingly memorable! It's false advertising at it's worst! Oh well, hopefully it will be in the DVD release, making that a good reason to skip seeing it in the theaters.

Sadly the popularity of this film hinges on the reality that way too many men marry into a family and think they can have everything go their way without regard for how the children have been raised before they came along. Kids love to push boundaries and rarely ever accept the 'new dad' as anything more than an ATM, so the guy let's his frustration build to the point where he explodes on them, losing all credibility and respect. Obviously they don't all become psycho killers, but the abuses run rampant in today's society, so it's no surprise why so many teens are eager to see this film.

"The Stepfather" is a remake of the 1987 cult classic by the same name staring Terry O'Quinn. The story begins with Michael Harding (Penn Badgley) returning home from military school to find his mother (Sela Ward) happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David (Dylan Walsh). As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there with a helpful hand. Is he really who he says he is or could David be hiding a dark side ? Along with his girlfriend Kelly (Amber Heard), his father Jay (Jon Tenney), and Susan's friends (Paige Turco and Sherry Stringfield), they slowly start to piece together the mystery of the man who is set to become his stepfather, but they may be too late in getting to the truth... In the last decade we've witnessed a lot of remakes and spin offs, most of them unnecessary, and that's the case with this film. And the reason why it is unnecessary, is because it doesn't add anything to the original besides a groovy soundtrack. The film doesn't really have a voice of its own, instead it's almost a play by play remake with a few differences to make it up to date. Despite being unnecessary, this remake is still quite enjoyable, however, it doesn't have the subtlety of the original and also Terry O'Quinn was much better as a protagonist then Dylan Walsh. O'Quinn had more charisma and delivered his lines with much more impact. And then there's a few things that drag the film down, like the sexualization of Amber Heard ( numerous shots of the young actress in her bikini and underwear, which I wouldn't mind, had it been done more tastefully instead of being a deliberate attempt to please the male audience), plus the poorly done makeovers of David and the lesbian subplot which made absolute no sense to me and seemed out of place. Despite all this, The Stepfather is still a nice little thriller and quite enjoyable, just know that the original is far better.

6/10

Maybe people are expecting more and more from films-its just a movie-its not your life. I thought as something to sit down and watch for a bit it was fair game. I have a technical mind and I always think about how many times they did a certain scene or how many scenes were left on the cutting floor for the finished product. Longer than usual, it was not very bloody which was kind of a relief, and it probably had more in common with the thrillers made in the 1950s, than something out of the modern age. In real life stepfather's can be an unwelcome event, so in that sense this movie taps a vein of something unsettling in the real world. Above average acting helped.

Dylan Walsh is a strong actor, but the material he's been given doesn't help him attempt to go toe to toe with Terry O'Quinn's iconic performance in the original. The stepchild's gender has been switched and Penn Badgley brings a lot of welcome vulnerability to the role while Sela Ward's concerned wife and mother doesn't get as much to do nor does Amber Heard as the concerned girlfriend.

The script has more cliches and bad scares than the original which hurts it a lot, but it's entertaining enough if you just want to decompress and watch something that doesn't require you to do much thinking.

Michael Harding returns home from military school to find his mother happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David. As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there with a helpful hand. Is he really the man of her dreams or could David be hiding a dark side?

THE STEPFATHER is a sufficient thriller that gets the job done the way you expect it to. It has suspense, good performances, and is well made. I haven't seen the original film starring Terry O'Quinn so I can't compare it with the remake. However, I can say the remake is entertaining and is engaging while it lasts. What more can you ask for?

The thing that I liked the most here was the family dynamics. I didn't know what to expect from Penn Badgley, who plays the main character, but he pulls off a very convincing performance. Sela Ward as the mother is just great and the pretty blond who shows some skin, Amber Heard, can actually act! Paige Turco and Jon Tenney were really good in their roles as well. However, it's obvious that Dylan Walsh is the main star of the film. He does a fantastic job as the crazy stepfather. Some of his scenes just gave me chills.

There's also quite a bit of suspense in here, which surprised me. Sure, there's one cat jump scare (don't you just hate those?), but that's forgivable because there was only one. Some of the death scenes were quite disturbing as well. Being a PG-13 movie and all, you might expect death scenes with no blood to be quite "lame," as they say it, but that's where you're wrong. They're pretty realistic and not over the top as you might have seen in other films.

If there's one thing I must complain about, it's the payoff. I thought it was way too short and that it could have been longer. In the end, however, the remake keeps you very interested until the very end. There's rarely any moment where you'll find yourself looking at your watch because the thriller gets the job done and does it efficiently and effectively.