The Stepfather

1987 Mystery & Suspense

Terry O'Quinn plays The Stepfather in this intelligent, unsettling chiller. We'd tell you O'Quinn's character name, but he has so many. You see, O'Quinn has been a stepfather many times over, romancing and marrying widowed women in several different states. After each wedding, everything is blissful -- at least, until O'Quinn's new wife and kids fail to measure up to his notions of perfection. Then he kills them en masse, and moves on to his next victims. Shelley Hack and Jill Schoelen co-star as O'Quinn's latest wife and stepdaughter, who prove to be yet another disappointment to him. An adroit witches' blend of Ozzie & Harriet and Psycho, The Stepfather was scripted by suspense veteran Donald E. Westlake. A lesser sequel, Stepfather 2, followed in 1989.

Director: Joseph Ruben

Starring: Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack, Stephen Shellen, Charles Lanyer

Reviews

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Awards

  • Best Actor

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (1988)

     
  • Joseph Ruben

    Cognac Festival du Film Policier (1988)

  • Best Motion Picture

    Edgar Allan Poe Awards (1988)

     
  • Best Film

    Fantasporto (1990)

     
  • Best Male Lead

    Independent Spirit Awards (1988)