Stepfather II

The Stepfather (1987) was an enjoyable thriller telling the story of an unhinged man who joins family's, devotes himself to them but does whatever it takes to keep the family together and living by his rules.

Lost star Terry O'Quinn was fantastic and I'd only just discovered that sequels were spawned.

Following our antagonist as he breaks from an asylum and attaches himself to another single mother.

Once again O'Quinn is great, as is the always enchanting Meg Foster and the late Jonathan Brandis.

Stepfather II does not match its predecessor but is still watchable. You'll know everything that's going to happen, but that's okay.

The Good:

Terry O'Quinn

Meg Foster

Direct sequel

The Bad:

Predictable

Shadowed by the superior first movie

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Even psychos appreciate the snaps, crackles and pops

The disturbed man looking for the perfect family, and will do anything to get it, is back at it again in 'Stepfather II: Make room for Daddy'. We pick up shortly after the original film, and see that the man formerly known as Jerry Blake is inside of a psychiatric facility serving his sentence for all the murders and attempts he committed. He breaks out early on and changes his persona yet again to a psychiatrist named Gene, this time targeting single mother Carol and her teenage son Todd. After brutally dispatching people in the way of him building a life with them, Gene makes it to the church on his wedding day ... but will he get through the ceremony without losing his mind completely?

Terry Quinn I thought 'Stepfather II' was really interesting in the sense that it separated itself from the other two films. In parts one and three, the stepchildren (Stephanie in 1 and Andy in 3) disliked the stepfather a lot. They could see that something was off with him, and it never really clicked. In this sequel, the son Todd really liked Gene the stepfather and looked up to him as a role model of sorts. His father just up and left him and his mom, so the writers did a great job of establishing Todd's need for a male figure. It kind of makes it all the more sad when it's revealed how sick Gene really is.

Terry Quinn puts in an amazing performance yet again as the deranged man who would kill for a perfect family unit. Meg Foster did really well as the mother Carol as did Jonathan Brandis as Todd. I liked the friend Maddie that they gave Carol, played by Caroline Williams. She was really good too. It lacked the intensity of the original film, but 'Stepfather II' is still very well done. The finale at the church as Gene prepares for his wedding is also very creepy.. and perhaps very bloody. I recommend this one!

7/10

Terry O'Quinn reprises his All I want is the perfect American family and if I don't get it I'll kill everyone and try again psycho role. Once again he manages to get an unmarried woman with a child to fall for him. This time it's Meg Foster. If you're a fan of the first then you have to see this one. If nothing else then for O'Quinns performance as Henry Morrison no Jerry Blake no Hodgkins....Wait a minute, Who is he here?

The Stepfather was a surprisingly classy thriller stuck at the end of the 80's slasher glut. Thanks to a smart script and a phenomenal performance from Terry O'Quinn, The Stepfather ended up becoming a cult classic.

Even though it seemed as if O'Quinn's Jerry Blake was killed off at the end of the first film, the magic of the movies brings him back for yet another round of slashings in the sake of the American Dream. Jerry's now stuck in a mental hospital. He, of course, escapes and forms a new identity - this time, a psychiatrist(named Gene) specializing in suburban women, which gives him a nice group of gals to choose from for his next dream wife.

Unfortunately for Carol (the beautiful Meg Foster), Jerry fixates on her and her son (Jonathan Brandis) and wants them to become his new family. Jerry's soon up to his own tricks, dispatching of anyone that gets in his way.

This is a movie that doesn't need to exist, so it's to director Jeff Burr's credit that he's able to make it seem as if this movie has a right for being here. Bringing Terry O'Quinn back is a huge plus and he's pitch perfect here. Joining him are genre faves Meg Foster and Caroline Williams who are equally game and ground a rather ridiculous story in reality. There's a nice dose of playful, dark humor throughout and the murder set pieces will please gore fiends without turning off those in the mood for more traditional thriller stylings.

Stepfather II might not reinvent the genre, but it's a worthy and fun sequel.

You know what? This sequel was pointless but it turned out better that I thought it would. Terry O'Quinn is back and the rest of the cast is different. This sequel was actually thought up with no imagination, but it worked out well. I admit one thing, O'Quinn's performance was just as great in the original, and the rest of the cast was better than the original.