One is left longing for Hitchcock's dark, daring wit and disturbingly amoral insights.
Comment
06/24/06
The Stepfather (1987)
88
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:25
Fresh:22
Rotten:3
Average Rating:6.8/10
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: This is the chilling tale of a congenial family man whose engaging smile and staid demeanor insidiously mask a deep-seated dementia. His obsessive desire to live the ideal family life ultimately... [More]
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Reviews for The Stepfather
Too often disappointingly thin.
08/30/04
Top CriticWhile I was watching the film, I was distracted by elements of the Idiot Plot Syndrome -- moments when only an idiot would have made such obvious mistakes.
01/01/00
Top CriticJust when it looked like slasher movies were wholly irredeemable, director Joseph Ruben came along to prove there is some intelligent life in this otherwise bereft subgenre.
09/24/07
Thankfully, director Rubens doesn't take advantage of every opportunity for cheap thrills and gore.
05/24/03
An inventive, overlooked, classic slasher film from the 80's.
09/12/03
A wonderful horror film because the people are so ordinary
08/13/02
No review available.
10/31/02
No review available.
10/09/05
...ultimately manages to overcome its almost aggressively uneven atmosphere to establish itself as a solid little '80s thriller.
11/25/09
Borrowing from Hitchcock (Shadow of a Doubt) and Kubrick (The Shining), Ruben's elegant, darkly humorous tale deconstructs patriarchy and can't be divorced from the Republican family values that dominated the 1980 with their 1950s retro feel.
07/06/05
May be the best movie about the breakup of a family since Shoot the Moon.
01/01/00
Top CriticThe Stepfather has no problem standing alone as an excellent horror flick. Fans of the horror genre and fans of just a good campy film will delight in this movie.
02/13/01
A high water mark of 1980s horror/suspense.
09/04/06
No review available.
08/15/02
No review available.
06/01/05
Ruben's surprisingly resonant and durable tale ... cannily reflects, in a larger way, the era of its creation
01/15/08
The styling is never less than assured, and [director] Ruben knows how to put bland, unruffled surfaces to sinister Hitchcockian uses.
01/01/00
Latest News for The Stepfather
November 12, 2007:
Screen Gems' Stepfather Remake Adds Names
If you've been clinging to the hope that Screen Gems' announced remake of The Stepfather was some kind of cruel trick, you may as well face facts -- it's really happening. And... More...
September 11, 2007:
Nelson McCormick Signs on to Direct Stepfather Remake
Apparently, Screen Gems was serious about doing that remake of The Stepfather. More...
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