The Stepfather is all about a murderous family man and Penn Badgley's bare chest. If you're somewhere around 13 or 14 years old, it probably doesn't get much better than that.
Between the body bags and the beefcake, The Stepfather is a reasonable remake of the '80s classic thriller. It's scary when it should be, but not scary enough to give anyone nightmares. This is the tale of a man who presents himself as the perfect stepfather while proving to be anything but.
Dylan Walsh is understated and genuinely creepy as the psycho who ingratiates himself with family after family, killing as he goes. The movie opens in a suburban house where a man is busy changing his appearance -- beard shorn, new hair colour, contact lenses to change his eyes from brown to blue. Walsh's character quietly goes about his business with barely a glance at the gruesome scene in the living room that the rest of us get to see. Time to find a new family.
In Oregon, we watch Walsh's character, now called David Harris, flirt with a divorcee named Susan (Sela Ward) at the grocery store. Six months later, they're living together and planning a wedding. Susan has two young kids and an older boy who has been sent away to military school for behaviour issues. Michael (Penn Badgley) is now home from that school for the summer, and he's none too happy to see his mother in a new relationship.
Michael's girlfriend Kelly (Amber Heard), says she thinks the new stepfather is OK. In fact, everyone really likes David; he's made Susan so happy, and even Susan's sister likes him and wants to help him find a job.
David does a few favours for Michael. He makes it clear that he thinks Michael should be home for good and not sent back to military school. David goes out of his way to get Michael on-side, but the kid is just not convinced. Good thing, too, because it isn't long before various characters begin to die. Maintaining his fake identity means that David has to stay busy killing anyone who is suspicious of him.
So many to kill, so little time.
The Stepfather has some slow moments -- quick! Get Badgley and Heard into their bathing suits! -- but the tension is created nicely and the storytelling is smarter than the genre usually demands. The performances are likewise above average for a thriller, and the main characters become fully three-dimensional. Well, almost.
The Stepfather may displease fans of the original and annoy the horror cognoscenti who want to see more carnage, but for the younger audience the filmmakers are obviously pursuing, the movie works fine.
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THE STEPFATHER
1 Hour, 41 Minutes
Starring
Penn Badgley, Amber Heard, Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward
Director
Nelson Mccormack
Sun Rating: 3 out of 5
