Michael Harding (Penn Badgely) returns home from military school to find his mother Susan (Sela Ward) happily in love and living with her new boyfriend David (Dylan Walsh). As the two men ge... Read allMichael Harding (Penn Badgely) returns home from military school to find his mother Susan (Sela Ward) happily in love and living with her new boyfriend David (Dylan Walsh). As the two men get to know each other, he becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there t... Read allMichael Harding (Penn Badgely) returns home from military school to find his mother Susan (Sela Ward) happily in love and living with her new boyfriend David (Dylan Walsh). As the two men get to know each other, he becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there to help.
- Awards
- 2 nominations
- Real Estate Assistant
- (as Kara Briola)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Stepfather (1987) was loosely based on John List, a New Jersey accountant who murdered his family in November 1971 and disappeared. He was found nearly eighteen years later living under an alias when his neighbor recognized him on America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988) and reported it to the Police.
- GoofsThere is a large storm that the son and his girlfriend are seen sitting in the car and he finally runs into the house and she is left in the car watching him enter. In the background of the neighbors circular driveway you can see where the "rain" has a nice arc on the driveway and the area farther away from this arc is dry.
- Quotes
David Harris: I thought I could make this work. But I can't! This isn't the right family for me. The boy is a problem. He has no respect for me. You haven't been hard enough on him. You've got to make a boy understand! You've got to break him if necessary! You're too weak to do that.
Susan Harding: What are you talking about?
David Harris: I thought it could work, but it can't! I thought you could be Mrs. Grady Edwards, but you can't!
Susan Harding: What did you say? Who is Grady Edwards?
David Harris: Wait, wait... it just... wait a minute. I... uh...
[there is a long tense pause as David/The Stepfather, too late, realizes his slip]
David Harris: Who am I here?
- Alternate versionsUnrated version was released on Region 1 DVD and Region A Blu-ray.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Another Top 10 Worst Horror Movie Remakes (2015)
- SoundtracksTypical
Written by Paul Meany
Performed by Mutemath (as Mute Math)
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing
The Stepfather basically tells the story of "David" - a disturbed man who is apparently normal and caring on the outside but very unstable on the inside, both psychologically and emotionally and one of who lives a lot double lives, looking for recently divorced women to emotionally manipulate them and ultimately, breaks them down and kills them and any immediate family. I always compare him to the girl out of the Orphan because they both have nearly the same tactics at luring people into trusting them - in fact this movie reminded me of Orphan a lot. Anyway, when he senses he may be in danger of having his history found out, "David" takes even more extreme action to cover his steps up a lot quicker than he would normally do. "David" has been doing this many for years, and also has evaded capture from the police by changing his appearance and never using any ID when purchasing, for example a car. He always pays in cash, and always changes his appearance in somewhat way before moving onto his next victim. You may think it's a relatively simple plot, but the movie itself is a lot of fun and suspense. There's also a lot of psychological tension and build up as "David"'s new family become suspicious of his activities and his apparent lack of background information. As the movie progresses, things turn for the worse for the family he has deceived as they become wary of his background.
The acting is first class, and the guy who acts as "David", Dylan Walsh? I think that's his name. He is very convincing in his role. I honestly can't find one bad thing to say about this movie, as I definitely enjoyed it, and the build up of psychological suspense kept me watching until the very end of the credits. All in all it's quite excellent, and I've given it a 9 out of 10, simply losing one point because it is still a remake, but one that is excellent.
If you're a fan of Orphan or indeed, The Strangers, The Stepfather's psychological factors may just peek your interests here. Definitely a must watch at some point. Very enjoyable!
- TodayIsTheDayOurSinsWillBeOver
- Aug 29, 2010
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Stepfather 4
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $29,062,561
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $11,581,586
- Oct 18, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $31,198,531
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1