Die Kinder von Stepford

It has been 15 years since I first saw "The Stepford Children" on TV, so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. But from what I recall, this chapter in the saga was much better than the uninspired "Revenge of the Stepford Wives." The "Children" TV movie tried to combine the best of both previous ventures with an enjoyable result (for TV-fare). Barbara Eden did a fine job as the new wife in peril. Keeping kids in line has never been so fun! Unfortunately, as this movie had no big stars other than Ms. Eden, it has never seen the light of day on VHS or DVD. That is too bad. "Revenge" at least got a VHS release due to Don Johnson being in the credits. Maybe we will be lucky enough to get a better quality transfer to DVD for the 30th Anniversary edition of the original with the two TV movies added in a box set... Now that would bring a smile to Dis' face up there in the Men's Association.

In a sequel we already know what's supposed to be happening so any sense of mystery is redundant. And so watching creepy children and women act "strangely" isn't exactly exciting.

I also must question the intelligence of turning their children into machines since eventually, the population of the Gentlemen's Club would die, at least some would, there would be no one to continue their bloodline and a suspicious number of purposeless citizens roaming around.

So the plot doesn't make sense really and because of the slow pace, it's difficult to watch without noticing the idiot plot. Technically not a bad movie, just a very flawed one.

You may have serious doubts about watching the third sequel to The Stepford Wifes, but this is an absolute classic. Much scarier in premise than the first, and very entertaining. It only got a video release here in the UK, but should be released worldwide for everyone to enjoy.

This film begins with a man named "Steven Harding" (Don Murray) purchasing a home in the small town of Stepford, Connecticut where he used to live about 18 years earlier. He then returns to New York City and together both he and his wife "Laura Harding" (Barbara Eden) pack up the car and head on out. Also with them are their two teenage children "David Harding" (Randall Batinkoff) and "Mary Harding" (Tammy Lauren) who are both a little rebellious at times--especially with their father. Be that as it may, once they arrive both David and Mary are shocked to see just how dull and boring all the other kids in school are. There is, however, one particular teenage girl named "Lois Gregson" (Debbie Barker) who also recently arrived in Stepford and isn't like the others and because of that both her and David hit it off right away. For that matter, both Laura and Lois' mother "Sandy Gregson" (Sharon Spelman) also become good friends due in large part because everyone else in Stepford seems so strange. And then one day Sandy also begins acting different--and this has a direct effect on everyone involved. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I honestly didn't expect too much from this film until I noticed that Barbara Eden was starring in it. I mention this because she is one of those actresses who can typically take a film with an uninspired plot and bring it up to a reasonable level. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of those times because the plot in this film was basically the same as the original movie, "The Stepford Wives" and its sequel, "Revenge of the Stepford Wives" with the only difference being the age of some of the victims. That being said, there really weren't too many surprises here. Throw in a rather botched ending and I honestly have no choice but to rate it as slightly below average.

Stepford Children (1987) is a movie I recently found on a random streaming service. The storyline follows a family with two high school aged children that moves out of New York to Stepford, Connecticut. Shortly after arriving the dad joins the local mens club, the wife tries to fit in and the kids attend the most prestigious high school in the country. The kids quickly realize they don't fit in and the mother doesn't realize things are strange around here as she tries to address the trouble her kids keep getting in...will the family adjust to Stepford or will Stepford have to adjust to them?

This movie is directed by Alan J. Levi (Robocop) and stars Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie), Don Murray (Conquest of the Planet of the Apes), Tammy Lauren (Wishmaster), Pat Corley (Murphy Brown) and Dick Butkus (Gremlins 2).

The concept for this storyline was interesting and while a bit far fetched still fun to watch unfold. They went a little over the top making the kids look ultra 80s so any transformations would be gigantic. The father/children trips were entertaining and well done as were the transformations. The acting is actually pretty good and I loved the ending. These movies always pickup once everyone is aligned with what's going on. The mother in this was a really great character.

Overall this was a nice spin on the Stepford storyline for fans of the series. This isn't great but it is entertaining and worth a viewing. I would score this a 5-5.5/10 and recommend seeing it once.