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

After reading so many poor reviews about this movie, I was reluctant to see it for myself. Terry O'Quinn's stepfather character is even more psychotic than he was in part one! Mr. O'Quinn deserves an Academy Award for this performance. But seriously, the movie is good from the standpoint that it is just a thriller about a troubled man who wants to start a family. The only problem is, he will kill to make that dream happen. Thumbs up on this one for me. Take it for what it is.

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

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!!!

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.