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 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.

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.

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