Movie Review: The Stepfather (2009)

Since I knew this existed, not long after I saw the original, I began to imagine what a cynical remake would look like. I was basically exactly right.

The only real change here that I like is that there is an ex-husband involved, for however brief. That was a nice little story change and he sort of substitutes for the brother of the murdered wife from the original. And to be perfectly honest, the story progresses in a more natural way in this one, since that dumb plotline is gone.

So, what then, is the problem here? Because it’s obviously not a good movie.

Well, the original to be perfectly fair also wasn’t that good. It was a mediocre horror film with a good premise but bad writing, that’s completely elevated by Terry O’Quinn. No one, and I mean no one would remember that movie were it not for that tremendous performance, which stands up there with some of Hollywood’s best psychopaths.

Here, in the Terry O’Quinn role, we have…drumroll please…Dylan Walsh.

I had never heard of him, so I was already a bit skeptical going in. But jeez, he is bad. The movie recreates the classic “Who am I here” scene late in the movie…