The Stepford Children

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.

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.

Considering the excellence of the original Stepford Wives, I find it very hard to believe that Ira Levin had a hand in this very poor "clone" (no pun intended).

It's a formulaic as I've ever seen coming out of Hollywood. We all know the ending from the first five minutes of the the start.

Barbara Eden just does not suit this role. For starters, she's too old, secondly, she's typecast and we can't get Jeanie out of our heads.

It's poorly directed and all the acting is hammed up to the limit, with each character trying his or her self to be a silly stereotype.

Richard Anderson, who played Oscar Goldman in The 6 million Dollar Man is no match for Patrick O'Neal in The Stepford Wives. Everything about this movie shouts "Low budget" and "Hurried".

I watched this movie, so you don't have to. Please don't make the same mistake.

BTW, the remake of The Stepford Wives (with Christopher Walken and Glen Close is even worse.

I like many others saw this as a child and I loved it and it horrified me up until adulthood, I have been trying to find this movie and even been searching for it to play again on TV someday, since it originally played on USA networks. Does Anyone know where to buy this movie, or does anyone have it and would be willing to make a copy for me? Also does anyone know if there is a chance for it to be played on TV again? Maybe all of us fans should write a station in hopes of them airing it again. I don't think they did a good job of promoting this movie in the past because no one really knows about, people only know of the Stepford wives and Stepford husband movies. No one is familiar with the fact that there was a children version. Maybe they should also do a re-make of it since they seem to be doing that a lot lately with a lot of my favorite old thriller/horror flicks. Well if anyone has any input Please I Beg Of You write me with information. Thanks Taira tcampo23@aol.com

The Stepford Children is the second sequel to the cult 70's movie The Stepford Wives. This is the only sequel I have seen but I am aware they are all made for TV movies. The angle that this instalment takes is that now it is the children of Stepford who are being re-made to fit the ultra-conservative model favoured by the men of the community. I guess its underlying message is a warning against regimented conformity and the pursuit of an idealised 'perfection'. In this sense it's no different really to the first film but because the focus is now on teenagers as opposed to women, it takes the message away from the misogyny of a male dominated society to the angst of teenagers growing up and trying to remain individuals in a society that tries to mould them. It's the kind of themes that remain very relevant.

The story focuses on a family who move to the town of Stepford from the big city. The two kids do not fit into the community at all well, seeing as all the other teenagers from the town seem to be lifeless automatons. Although, it does have to be said that these two are the most 80's looking teenagers imaginable – it's hairspray, indoor-shades-wearing and headbands all the way! Anyway, before long their father becomes a member of the ominous Men's Association and he is soon convinced to have his wayward children 'corrected'.

This is overall a fairly decent film. The Stepford set-up is an interesting one and more leverage is engineered from the basic premise. But obviously the sense of mystery from the original movie is long gone and this does detract from the film's impact somewhat. We know from the outset why the women and children act so strangely, so it does mean that the amateur sleuthing by the new family is sort of wasted on us. But even taking this into account it's still an effective enough movie. The acting performances are pretty decent and there are some individual good moments, most of which involve scenes of the robotic replicas acting oddly. It's only towards the end where we see the sinister goings on behind the scenes. It's perhaps a pity there wasn't a little more made of this though as the ending itself is a bit too rushed for much of an impact. But all-in-all The Stepford Children is a decent enough TV chiller.