The Stepfather (1987)

The Stepfather (1987, UK)

In director Joseph Ruben's R-rated bloody psychological thriller and popular cult film, the role of the menacing "Stepfather" title character was based upon the exploits of mass killer John List, a failed accountant the "Bogeyman of Westfield" New Jersey in 1971. Although he was thought to be living "The American Dream," he murdered his entire family living in a 19-room mansion in Westfield (his wife, three children, and 85 year-old mother). List was caught in 1989 only after the airing of his exploits on "America's Most Wanted" TV show.

The film's main tagline was:

"He wanted a perfect family in a perfect town. But they couldn't measure up - Neither could the others...."

A threesome of story editor Carolyn Lefcourt, writer Brian Garfield, and novelist Donald E. Westlake developed the story, followed by Westlake's script. The difficult-to-market film was partially successful with box-office revenue of 2ドル.5 million, although it suffered due to the lack of any major stars, a difficult premise, and an unknown director. It was followed by two sequels: Stepfather II (1989) and Stepfather III (1992). A fourth film in the series, The Stepfather (2009) was a remake of the original 1987 film.

• the title 'stepfather' character (Terry O'Quinn) was adept at changing his identity, and had many alias names; he frequently married divorcees or single mothers, and became the "stepfather" to the woman's children - to create a 'perfect' family situation for himself; however, he was a very hateful and creepy character with a built-up intense rage inside
• a year after pretending to be Henry Morrison in the Seattle area (in the wealthy suburb of Bellevue), he slaughtered his previous wife Vicki and family and assumed a new identity
• the psychotic killer was now posing as a hard-working American Eagle Realty agent named Gerald "Jerry" Blake in Oak Ridge, WA, a Pacific Northwest, tree-lined suburb also near Seattle. He had just married widowed Susan Maine/Blake (Shelley Hack), with 16 year-old daughter Stephanie Maine (Jill Schoelen); the teenager was seeing a psychiatrist due to issues regarding her new father (and the remarriage of her mother), and the death of her real father
• in the scariest moment in the film, Jerry was hosting a neighborhood barbecue for some of his real-estate clients, when he saw a follow-up article written about the unsolved slaying of his previous wife Vicki in the nearby area; she was the sister of amateur detective James "Jim" Ogilvie (Stephen Shellen) - his own brother-in-law, who was sleuthing the case! Disturbed and upset and going into a freak-out meltdown, Jerry descended into the basement and maniacally rambled to himself as he pounded a table:
  • "All we need is some order around here. Order! I've been a good boy, a good boy... a little angel. Shut up! I've had as much as I can take. Just leave me alone. Let me out! Let me out! What are you gonna (do?) Keep this family together. You had better believe it!"
• as he turned, he realized that suspicious and resentful stepdaughter Stephanie, who had come down before him into the basement to retrieve ice cream from a freezer, was listening to him nearby. He quickly downplayed his very unusual outbursts, blaming everything on stress:
  • "Honey, you know how it is. Being a salesman, you smile at everybody all of the time. Sometimes, I, I just have to get off by myself and let off some steam, you know. You know how it is."
• shortly later, Stephane noticed and read the article about the previous murders - and began to realize that her new stepfather was probably the killer
• to lure her away from his trail, Jerry confiscated a letter to Susan from the newspaper with a photo of his previous alter-ego Henry Morrison, and then planted a fake photo of Henry Morrison in the same envelope for her
• Stephanie's psychiatrist Dr. Bondurant (Charles Lanyer) assumed the identity of an interested house buyer in order to provoke and question Jerry, but ended up being detected, beaten to death with a 2x4 plank of wood, and burned the body in a car that was pushed over a cliff
• in the climactic ending, the exasperated Jerry was already preparing to end his relationship with both Susan and the troublesome Stephanie by quitting his job, adopting a new identity (as Bill Hodgkins) and job as an insurance salesman in the nearby town of Rosedale where he rented an apartment; his objective was to again marry another single mother, while plotting to kill his current Maine family
• when Susan found out that Jerry no longer worked at the real estate office, she asked Jerry about why he had quit his job; he became confused about his new identity and called himself Hodgkins, and then asked himself: "Wait a minute? Who am I here?"; Susan suddenly realized that he was an imposter
• in a frenzy, he bashed Susan in the face with a phone and knocked her down the basement stairs - believing that she was dead; at the front door, he then ambushed and murdered his brother-in-law Jim (with a revolver) by stabbing him in the gut-stomach with a large carving knife (he muttered: "Next time, Jim, call before you drop by")
• his next intended victim was Stephanie, who defensively locked herself in the bathroom; after he broke through the door, she stabbed Jerry in the upper arm with a piece of broken bathroom mirror glass, and then fled to the attic where she became cornered; he fell through the weak attic floor to the level below, and landed in the bathroom, and continued his pursuit
• before he was able to kill Stephanie, a revived Susan shot him twice in the back (with Jim's Smith & Wesson .38 revolver), and Stephanie stabbed him in the chest as he uttered the words "I love you" to her; he fell dead and tumbled down the stairs