The Stepford Children

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.

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.

The third entry in the "Stepford" franchise, but apparently the three made-for-TV obscure sequels are incredibly obscure and hard to trace down, whereas the 70's original as well as the blockbuster remake with Nicole Kidman are commonly known and very popular. I haven't seen either the early 80's "Revenge of the Stepford Wives" or the mid 90's "The Stepford Husbands", but this "The Stepford Children" is a quite charming and highly entertaining little film. It's basically the exact same film as the original; obviously less mysterious yet much cheesier and incredibly 80's to the nth degree. The main difference here, like the title implies, is that not just the liberated wives but also the rebellious and punk teenage offspring in town undergoes the typical and highly effective "Stepford treatment", licensed by the local Men's Association. For some reason the scenario attempts to uphold the Stepford mystery until late in the film, even though nobody is likely to watch this sequel before having checked out the original and presumably everybody also knows about the denouement. The Harding family is all packed and ready to move from the grisly city of New York to the small and peaceful community of Stepford. Particularly father Steven is excited about their new life because he already lived in Stepford and always wanted to go back ever since his first wife, whom his new wife Laura and adolescent children Mary and David know very little about, died under mysterious circumstances. The town is almost too perfect, with picturesque neighbors and model students, and especially the modern teenagers face huge difficulties to adjust. Their efforts to modernize the place and take the local youth of Stanford in tow cause confrontations with the eminent townsfolk, particularly the members of the Men's Association, and put the familial relationships under a lot of stress. David meets and falls in love with the last "normal" girl in school Lois, but when even she transforms into a domestic dummy overnight, David can convince his skeptical mother to investigate the sinister Stanford secret. The first hour of "The Stanford Children" is slow-paced and rather tame, but the finale is trashy and cheesy like the VHS cover promises and like a late 80's thriller ought to be, in fact. The modus operandi behind the Stanford secrets is illustrated in greater detail, and I think horror fans and lovers of the original film will appreciate that. At least, I did. The overall plot still doesn't make a lot of sense and the script is chock-full of irrational aspects, but it's nonetheless an engaging formula and undoubtedly one that evokes an atmosphere of suspense and fear. The acting performances are far above average. Especially the arrogant and obnoxious members of the Men's Association depict plausible characters and even teenage players Tammy Lauren and Randall Batinkoff give away impressive performances. Recommended without hesitation!

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.

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.