The Stepfather

The Stepfather (1987)

Genres - Mystery, Thriller  |   Sub-Genres - Psychological Thriller  |   Release Date - Jan 23, 1987 (USA)  |   Run Time - 90 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - R
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Terry O'Quinn plays The Stepfather in this intelligent, unsettling chiller. We'd tell you O'Quinn's character name, but he has so many. You see, O'Quinn has been a stepfather many times over, romancing and marrying widowed women in several different states. After each wedding, everything is blissful -- at least, until O'Quinn's new wife and kids fail to measure up to his notions of perfection. Then he kills them en masse, and moves on to his next victims. Shelley Hack and Jill Schoelen co-star as O'Quinn's latest wife and stepdaughter, who prove to be yet another disappointment to him. An adroit witches' blend of Ozzie & Harriet and Psycho, The Stepfather was scripted by suspense veteran Donald E. Westlake. A lesser sequel, Stepfather 2, followed in 1989.

Characteristics

Keywords

psychopath, assumed-identity, family, daughter, stepfather, dysfunctional, investigation, investigator, killing, maniac, murder, psychiatry, rebel, scheme, search, serial-killer, widow/widower, wife

Attributes

Sleeper