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The Stepfather

Play trailer 1:52 Poster for The Stepfather R 1987 1h 28m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
89% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Jerry Blake (Terry O'Quinn) is a family man, but he happens to have a series of families, with each one on the receiving end of his murderous ways. When Jerry sets his sights on a lovely widow named Susan (Shelley Hack) and her headstrong daughter, Stephanie (Jill Schoelen), it appears that his brutal pattern of killings will continue. However, Stephanie begins to suspect that there's something wrong with the seemingly well-adjusted Jerry, and a violent confrontation is inevitable.

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The Stepfather

Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker 09/13/2023
The Stepfather is a cunning, shapely thriller -- a beautiful piece of construction. But it could easily be overlooked, because it has a placid surface that resembles B-picture banality. Go to Full Review Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness 01/15/2008
B+
Ruben's surprisingly resonant and durable tale ... cannily reflects, in a larger way, the era of its creation Go to Full Review Variety Staff Variety 09/24/2007
An engrossing suspense thriller that refreshingly doesn't cheat the audience in terms of valid clues and plot twists. Go to Full Review Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com 03/23/2025
B+
"The Stepfather" ultimately gives in and offers a formulaic finale, but the journey there is more intriguing, with the disintegration of Jerry's faux identity leading to sharp scenes of suspense and psychological fracture. Go to Full Review Sharai Bohannon A Nightmare On Fierce Street Podcast 12/31/2024
3/5
'The Stepfather' feels like a 'Fear Street' novel but with adults and more blood. I'm not mad at that, and I enjoy that vibe. However, I also understand that's not everyone's bag. Go to Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 08/30/2023
3/4
The movie proves to be an involving thriller, primarily because of O’Quinn’s menacing performance. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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thiago S @Thiagostone May 14 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Michael P @TheeMichael-jai May 3 A pretty much mediocre tale of scarce loneliness and new love in families. See more Julian C @juliancooper_12 May 2 Terry O'Quinn's performance is the best thing about this movie. Despite it feeling like a TV movie, the amount of suspense throughout makes up for it. See more Caleb L @RT83793999 Oct 5 One of the best psychological horror films out there. Terry O'Quinn is incredible in this. See more A.L.Jude P @judebd Aug 25 Awful and sored acting by Jill Schoelen made the whole movie to the category of good plot and a bad script. See more Cody S. @cody073001 Aug 20 This movie was pretty good. The performance from the main antagonist was great. I have to say, the wife and the daughter could’ve been better. I think it’s weird that a girl who’s supposed to be 16 is seen in the nude in this movie but I suppose that’s a sign of the time. There was a slow point in the buildup to the ending but the last thirty minutes of the film were very entertaining. An overall pretty good horror movie, although I feel it’s more of a thriller. See more Read all reviews
The Stepfather

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Cast & Crew

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Joseph Ruben

Director

Terry O'Quinn

Jerry Blake

Jill Schoelen

Stephanie

Shelley Hack

Susan

Charles Lanyer

Dr. Bondurant

Stephen Shellen

Jim Ogilvie

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The Stepfather

The Stepfather: Trailer 1 The Stepfather: Trailer 1 1:52 View more videos
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The Stepfather

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Movie Info

Synopsis Jerry Blake (Terry O'Quinn) is a family man, but he happens to have a series of families, with each one on the receiving end of his murderous ways. When Jerry sets his sights on a lovely widow named Susan (Shelley Hack) and her headstrong daughter, Stephanie (Jill Schoelen), it appears that his brutal pattern of killings will continue. However, Stephanie begins to suspect that there's something wrong with the seemingly well-adjusted Jerry, and a violent confrontation is inevitable.
Director
Joseph Ruben
Producer
Jay Benson
Screenwriter
Donald E. Westlake
Distributor
New Century Vista Film Company [us]
Production Co
ITC Productions, Inc.
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 23, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 26, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.6M
Runtime
1h 28m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo