Le beau-père 2

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

I actually enjoy Stepfather 2 more than the first Stepfather movie. The haunting theme does a lot for creating a truly sinister atmosphere. Rarely does a film score stick in my head, but this one does. And then there's Terry O'Quinn who plays the character just right.

You have to remember that this film was basically made in only 4 months. That's writing the script, casting, shooting, post production, etc. It was made for about 1 and a half million dollars and originally was supposed to be a direct to video release. Some additional shots were added and changed when the studio decided it was going to run a theatrical release like the first Stepfather, and they needed a more violent "Horror Movie".

The new DVD release presents the film in it's original Widescreen format, and it's a very sharp Animorphic transfer. A great thing included on the disc is that it has many alternate and extended scenes that were from the original Director's cut. There is also a short still gallery, and a very interesting full-length commentary by the Director and Producer of Stepfather 2. The only thing missing is a theatrical trailer...albeit most Buena Vista DVD's lack a trailer so it's no big surprise there.

If you like this film then you need this DVD, it easily blows away the old VHS and Laserdisc editions. Now, if only they'd release the 1st Stepfather movie on DVD!!!

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.

The first Stepfather film is a classic in the slasher/thriller genre thanks mainly to it's incredible performance from Terry O' Quinn, and coming back for more in this fun ride.

The plot = Not all that different from before, The Stepfather now sitting comfortably in an insane asylum, breaks loose and sets his sights on a new family.

"Stepfather II" is a mixed bag in my opinion, although it is fun but could have been better, The plot is somewhat thin and follows too closely at times along the same path as the original film and the pacing is a little off at times, but this movie still manages to be interesting at the same time and boasts a decent cast with strong supporting performances from Meg Foster who plays the new would be wife with her stunning blue eyes and is always a delight to watch and Caroline Williams as the best friend, giving a really likable performance and has great chemistry with the cast and even the late Jonathan Brandis who plays the sun really shines in one of his early Roles, but off course is Terry O-Quinn who steals the show yet again.

Another aspect I liked that this time round the body count is upped, But unfortunately lacks anything stands out and the pacing is drawn out Too much and the plot wasn't developed as well as it could have been. It Did face production constraints, but it's too similar to the original Film, but the ending was interesting, the wedding scene is definitely a Stand out and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

All in all a decent follow up not quite on the level of the first one but overall a decent follow up, could have been a lot worse.