At the Movies with Fatwayne

Not a lot of mystery in this remake of the 1987 horror/thriller of the same name. Every part of this movie’s plot is telegraphed way in advance so that there is very little buildup of tension or suspense. We know that the “stepfather” is a serial killer since we see him leaving the home of his murdered family. We know that he is mentally unbalanced (insane would be a better word) and extremely adept at meeting women and establishing new relationships and families. Ultimately, it becomes just a question of how he will dispatch his new family as his past history begins to slowly unravel.

We have a troubled teen, Michael Harding (Penn Badgley) who is returning home from military school where he was sent because of his behavior. When he gets home he discovers that his Mom, Susan (Sela Ward) is newly in love with a man named David Harris (Dylan Walsh) who we, the audience, knows is a murdering “sob”! It seems that very little is actually known about David and his history except the story that he tells about his family being killed in a car accident. It also seems that, from time to time, he gets caught in his fabrications if not outright lies.

People start to disappear including a neighbor who suspects that David is the man shown on the TV program “America’s Most Wanted” as well as Michael’s biological father, Jay (Jon Tenny) not to mention a friend or two of Susan’s. Anyone who is a threat to his secret is in deep peril.

Eventually, Michael’s suspicions are confirmed and he tries to protect his family as well as his girlfriend, Kelly Porter (Amber Heard). At this time David is totally out of control and in a murderous rage. He is trying to kill the entire family including Kelly. This family fights back and the battle is on. As usual, I won’t spoil the ending for you! I will say that it was somewhat satisfactory in the way the story concluded but not unexpected.

I found that there were several annoying sequences such as when Kelly is standing lookout as Michael is searching the basement. She is suppose to call him if she sees David approaching. Wouldn’t you just know that her phone would run out of battery! Another such moment is when she finally gets Michael on the cell phone, he drops his cell and it breaks apart! Pleeeaaassseeee, give me a break! One final bit of aggravation is when someone throws a meowing cat out of the shadows in an attempt to startle the audience. This is a pet peeve with me and I can’t understand why filmmakers can’t be more original and cease to use these trite gimmicks.

Quotes from this movie can be enjoyed at   http://www.tvmoviequotes.com/thestepfather.htm

Rated  – PG13  -

Fatwayne’s Rating  -    -