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The Stepfather

1987, Movie, R, 90 mins

The Stepfather: Review

STEPFATHER, THE
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Just when it looked like slasher movies were wholly irredeemable, director Joseph Ruben came along to prove there is some intelligent life in this otherwise bereft subgenre. Featuring a fascinating script by novelist Donald Westlake, some taut direction, and an absolutely absorbing performance by Terry O'Quinn, THE STEPFATHER is not just another slice-and-dice thriller. Loosely based on a real-life case, the film begins in a picturesque suburb, where a rugged-looking, bearded man (O'Quinn) washes blood from his hands, cuts his hair, shaves, and changes clothes to emerge a completely different person. As he walks downstairs, we see that the man's entire family has been massacred. One year later, the man resurfaces as Jerry Blake--in a new suburb, with a new job, a new wife (Shelley Hack), and a teenage stepdaughter (Jill Schoelen). Gradually the secret madness and alternate lives of Jerry Blake begin to surface. THE STEPFATHER fits in nicely among such examinations of the seedy underbelly of "perfect" family life as Alfred Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT and David Lynch's BLUE VELVET. Although the last part of the picture disintegrates into some typical slasher-movie conventions and a plethora of clumsy Hitchcock homages, the majority of the film is definitely not typical. Fueled by an intense and intricate performance by O'Quinn, the movie is a fascinating examination of America's predilection for appearances over substance. Jerry Blake is the consummate actor, masking his crazed state with an air of friendliness and easy charm, whose false veneer of bliss has been spoon-fed to his diseased mind via television. He wants the perfect TV family; but when reality rears its ugly head and day-to-day problems cannot be dealt with in a matter of minutes, his repressed rage erupts. leave a comment
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