The Stepdaughter

No pun intended - with movies like this one, you may not always know what you'll be getting. In this case, you have a movie that could be called decent. Not because it will surprise you (quite the opposite, this is as predictable as you can imagine - again no pun intended) ... but because it has some nice moments in it ... although nice may not be the right word to use for it ... because she is not playing nice (yes I know another pun - I live for them, like characters in movies like this one live for revenge ... or mayhem in general).

If you are into easy thrillers (or whatever you would call this very low budget effort) and do not care that much about acting and other things (quality of sets and video and so forth) ... you could do worse I reckon .. on the other hand, there are so many movies ... maybe you should not waste your time on something like this ... as I did.

The Stepdaughter? After watching this I am left wondering why it was even called that? Was there even a stepdaughter in it? Was Susan/Karen someone's stepdaughter?

But, on to the movie itself. It was interesting enough to keep you watching and wondering a little, but most of the time I spent groaning and rolling my eyes at the various plot holes and silliness. At times it is amazingly predictable, other times mildly suspenseful, but most times only slightly entertaining. My favorite cliches include the little "idiot" boy saving the day, the bumbling lawman, the good-looking big stud farm hand trying to force himself on her, and "I'm so crazy I talk to my doll". Then after all the buildup and clues start coming together... the payoff is very weak I felt.

I don't want to be all negative about any film, so I'll say that Andrea Roth does a good job as does Lisa Dean Ryan I thought. At least for what they had to work with.

4/10

The problem with this TV movie? It isn't trashy enough! Andrea Roth's portrayal of twisted anti-heroine Susan Heller is the saving grace of this tawdry thriller. She alternates sweetness and villainy well but there are times when she could have hammed it up more. I also found the structure of the film amateur. It starts improbably and little background information is revealed. It is not clear why Susan revisits the horse-ranch until more than half-way through. Little is revealed about Susan's mysterious upbringing, leaving her murderous deeds harder to understand. Another problem was the dour performance by the other daughter who was supposed to represent goodness in contrast to Susan's evilness. She was far from sympathetic, allowing Susan to take centre stage. Not the best of its genre.

I recently watched The Stepdaughter (2000) on Tubi. The story follows a troubled, orphaned young woman who resents never having a real family or a happy childhood. Fueled by a desire for revenge, she takes a job as a stable hand on a farm-where she may have found the perfect family to target, for more reasons than one.

Directed by Peter Liapis (Ghoulies), the film stars Andrea Roth (War), Lisa Dean Ryan (Doogie Howser, M. D.), Jaimz Woolvett (Unforgiven), and Cindy Pickett (Ferris Bueller's Day Off).

This feels like a made-for-TV movie in every possible way. The storyline is overly simplistic and far too convenient from start to finish. The acting and dialogue are painfully stiff, making every plot twist glaringly obvious. Nothing about the film feels authentic or realistic, and even the background music plays more like a soap opera than a thriller.

In conclusion, The Stepdaughter is awful. I'd rate it a 1/10 and recommend skipping it.

A lot of these direct-to-video movies aren't always the greatest, because they obviously couldn't even make it to the theater. I have no clue why this wasn't in theaters. It wasn't all that bad. Andrea Roth and Lisa Dean Ryan were rather good, and the story was really great. I recommend this movie. I give The Stepdaughter a 7 out of 10. :)