Stepfather III

The return of psycho Jerry Blake (Terry O'Quinn) in Stepfather II proved that he was impossible to kill, and sure enough, here he is again, up to his old tricks despite the claw-hammer to the chest he received at the end of Jeff Burr's sequel. Part three also shows 'the stepfather' to be impervious to pain, the killer having plastic surgery to alter his face (and, miraculously, his voice and hairline) all without the need for anaesthetic. With his new look (the character now played by Robert Wightman, who resembles Jim Carrey with a touch of Christian Bale), the killer once again goes looking for the ideal family unit.

This time, the murderous loony - now calling himself Keith Grant - marries divorcee Christine Davis (Priscilla Barnes), once again without the need of a birth certificate or any kind of legal documentation, but her wheelchair-bound amateur detective son Andy (David Tom) isn't convinced of his new stepfather's apparent good intentions. When Christine learns that she cannot have any more children, and Andy goes to stay with his father for the summer, Grant becomes angry that his family is no longer perfect and starts to romance widow Jennifer (Season Hubley) in preparation for his next move. Meanwhile, Andy has been investigating Grant's mysterious past and begins to suspect that his stepfather is a serial killer.

Those familiar with the series' formula will no doubt know how the film will pan out, Grant killing anyone who threatens to spoil his plans, before turning his murderous intentions to Christine; this time around, the deaths are a tad gorier despite this being a made-for-TV movie (Grant uses a bone saw and a rake, and a wood-chipper comes into play at the end), but this is still a very tired three-quel lacking in originality and genuine thrills, and which, at 110 minutes, is at least 20 minutes too long.

I get a kick out of these Stepfather movies. One minute the wife is this `Oh I'm so in love with you Henry/Jerry/Bill/Keith etc'. Then the next minute after he snaps she's calling him a seven letter word beginning with a B meaning an illegitimate child. This installment doesn't have Terry O'Quinn and it's not the same without him. The I just wanna be a family man gets a super duper facial make over from an underground plastic surgeon then finds another single mom with child and we're off and running. Not as good as the first two. Robert Wightman just didn't seem to be able to project that Psycho demeanor that Terry O'Quinn was so good at. As many times that the Stepfather had been stabbed, shot, hit over the head etc. you'd think that he would have wised up and said `This time I'm gonna get a girl who doesn't already have a child and try it that way for a change.'

I know it seems kind of dishonest to comment on a movie if you haven't seen it all the way through, but trust me on this one, kids...you don't need to see this turkey all the way through to know how bad it truly is. I pride myself on being pretty knowledgeable about good movies and even good BAD movies, and this is no PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE. At least that was entertaining in its own genuinely loopy way.

They should feature this movie in a class on how NOT to write a screenplay. You can see foreshadowing from a hundred miles away, and plot points fall into place with all the subtlety of an anvil falling on Wile E. Coyote's noggin. Case in point: the mean, stalkerish ex-hubby vs. our title character. The only way you wouldn't know how that bout would end up, is if you've NEVER SEEN A MOVIE BEFORE! And the whole thing with 'Bad Ex' threatening good ol' 'Stepfather,' as he's turning his flower bed with a BIG shovel??? The filmmakers must've thought the only people more stupid than the jerky ex, would be the audience. And they'd be absolutely right...if you bothered watching this dog turd beyond this point, which I'm happy to say I didn't.

Had I paid for the rental, I may have bitten the bullet to get my money's worth out of it, but it was on Showtime late night. Meaning I could channel surf over to a really GOOD movie, even one that's been on about a thousand times. Like the first NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, which I'm sure I've seen about a thousand times and still enjoyed it.

Well, thanks to STEPFATHER 3, make that a thousand and one.

So, if you want to respect yourself in the morning, do what Terry O'Quinn did way before me. Skip this mess. And if you see it sitting next to MALICE, or JURRASIC PARK or even PLAN NINE at the video store, and nothing else is in, do yourself a favor...RENT THE OTHER MOVIE.

Stepfather 3 Father's Day? What were they thinking making this movie. It is probaly one of the worst movies i have ever seen. The acting is bad the plot is in looney land. The charaters suck especially the kid in the wheel chair who cares if the stpefather kills him i'll do it myself. The part in the movie that just made it so stupid is when there in the gardens and the little kid in the wheelchair is trying to save his mom from the stepfather and he just gets up from his wheelchair and starts walking as if he was never paralyzed and he also starts RUNNING from the stepfather who is trying to kill him. As awful this movie is i still sat threw the whole thing. This movie isnt even worth seeing the credits. Stepfather 3 Father's Day ranks as the worst horror film ever even Troll 2 was better than this trash. AVOID AVOID. I give it no stars just plain awful

Terry O'Quinn was fantastic as the antagonist in the previous films, he made them entertaining and better than by all rights they should have been.

Having a sequel without him in was just asking for trouble but to Robert Wightman's credit he actually did a good job.

Sadly the film starts off poorly, the very concept of the plastic surgery is quite frankly offensive to the viewers! If you can get past that this is essentially the same film as the previous two and is a passable if much not needed effort.

The one difference here is that our antagonist decides that one family isn't enough and pry's himself into the lives of two while desperately trying to keep them apart.

This is harmless enough stuff but in many ways felt more like a Lifetime original than a Stepfather movie.

The Good:

Strong performance by Robert Wightman

The Bad:

Plastic surgery concept is ridiculous