the stepfather

Director: joseph ruben

Actor: terry o'quinn,jill schoelen,shelley hack,charles lanyer

Data Published: Fri Jun 05 1987

Genres: Horror,Thriller

Key Words: serial killer,murder of family,fake identity,shower,stepfather stepdaughter relationship

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094035/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stepfather_(1987_film)

Description: The Stepfather is a movie starring Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, and Shelley Hack. After murdering his entire family, a man marries a widow with a teenage daughter in another town and prepares to do it all over again.

Plot: Henry Morrison washes off blood in a bathroom, before changing his appearance and putting his belongings into a suitcase. After packing his things, Henry leaves through the front door of his house, nonchalantly passing the butchered remains of his family and others. Boarding a ferry, Henry throws the suitcase containing the objects from his former life into the ocean. One year later, Henry—now operating as a real estate agent named Jerry Blake in the suburbs of Seattle—has married the widow Susan Maine. Jerry's relationship with Susan's 16-year-old daughter, Stephanie, is strained. Her psychiatrist, Dr. Bondurant, advises her to give Jerry a chance. Meanwhile, amateur detective Jim Ogilvie, the brother of Jerry's murdered wife, runs an article about his sister's murder in the newspaper. While hosting a neighborhood barbecue, Jerry discovers the article and is disturbed by it. Jerry goes into the basement of the house and begins maniacally rambling to himself, unaware that Stephanie has also entered the basement. Discovering his stepdaughter, Jerry brushes off his outbursts by saying he was simply letting off steam. He tells her not to worry. Stephanie finds the newspaper mentioning Jerry's earlier killings and comes to believe her stepfather is the murderer mentioned in the article. She writes a letter to the newspaper requesting a photo of Henry Morrison, but Jerry finds the photo in the mail and replaces it with a stranger's photo, allaying her suspicions. Curious about Stephanie's stepfather, Dr. Bondurant makes an appointment with Jerry under an assumed name, saying he wants to buy a house. During their meeting, Bondurant asks too many questions and Jerry realizes that Bondurant is not who he says he is, beats him to death, and fakes a car accident. The next day, Jerry informs Stephanie of Bondurant's death and succeeds in bonding with her. Jerry's newfound relationship with his stepdaughter is quickly cut short when he catches Stephanie kissing her boyfriend, Paul. Jerry accuses Paul of attempting to rape Stephanie, which causes an argument with Stephanie and Susan, and drives Paul away. Stephanie runs out on Jerry and Susan because Susan says Jerry is her father, though he's not. The next day, Jerry quits his job and creates a new identity for himself in another town. He begins to court another widow, while planning to get rid of Susan and Stephanie. Having discovered where Jerry is now living, Jim Ogilvie begins going door to door, in search of his former brother-in-law. After Jim stops by, Susan phones the real estate agency to tell Jerry that someone was looking for him, only to be informed that Jerry quit several days ago. Susan asks Jerry, but, while explaining himself to Susan, Jerry confuses his identities, and Susan realizes that Stephanie was telling the truth about Jerry. Jerry bashes Susan with the phone and knocks her down the basement stairs. Content that Susan is dead, Jerry then sets out to kill Stephanie. He first kills Jim, who shows up again at the house, this time with a revolver. ("Next time," he deadpans, "call before you drop by.") After terrorizing Stephanie, he corners her in the attic, only to fall through the weak floor down to the bathroom. Susan shoots Jerry twice when he tries to attack Stephanie, but it only seems to faze him, as he keeps on going after his stepdaughter. Finally, Stephanie stabs him in the chest. He weakly utters "I love you", tumbles down the stairs and apparently dies. The film ends with Stephanie cutting down a birdhouse she and Jerry had built.