The Stepfather (1987)

I found out at an early age that horror movies were not that frightening.  My father didn't like many of them because he had seen some of the stuff in them actually happen, albeit accidentally, in the course of working in the steel industry.  I cannot remember at any point thinking any of it was real and perhaps that helped me not to be desensitized to the real thing, of which I have unfortunately had my share of encounters as well.  Thus, slasher films like Friday the 13th are fun to watch, as even Tom Savini often pulls some punches as his war experience reminds him that no one wants to see effects that are too realistic. 

That is the reason The Stepfather was effective when I first saw it.  I had no details about the actual case - no internet at the time, so it was difficult to research without going to a library - but knew it was somewhat based on real events.  It was also not done in the style of a normal slasher where a masked killer is going around picking people off.  Although some of it is a bit outlandish now this was something that one could imagine someone pulling at the time.  Also the real killer, John List, had not been apprehended.  He had been on the run since murdering his entire family in 1971 and, though this was an obvious exploitation film based on the case, one could come up with about any old idea of what he was up to.  Donald E. Westlake, one of the co-writers of the film, had his own stepfather issues and just let his imagination go where it did. 

Jerry Blake (Terry O'Quinn) is the assumed name of what appears to be the perfect family man.  He is good to his wife Susan (Shelley Hack), is popular in the neighborhood and is one of the top sellers at American Eagle Real Estate in Oakridge, Washington.  His stepdaughter Stephanie (Jill Schoelen), however, suspects something is off about him, and she is right.  A year prior to marrying Susan he lived under a different identity in Bellevue, where he murdered his entire family before vanishing. 

Jim Ogilvie (Stephen Shellen), the brother of the woman Blake previously murdered, returns and begins investigating, with the theory that the man who murdered his sister had to have set up a new life somewhere close.  Meanwhile, Stephanie starts seeking answers herself, especially when she finds Jerry flying into a rage in the basement during a party.  Her psychiatrist, Dr. Bondurant (Charles Lanyer), also becomes concerned when Jerry tries to avoid having a conference with him.  It isn't long before Jerry's true personality comes to the surface once again as he finds that his situation with Susan and Stephanie is far from perfect. 

John List was captured in 1989, having lived under an assumed name and indeed having remarried.  Not to a family with children, but to a woman who had no idea about his past.  He served the rest of his life in prison, dying in 2008.  He never became a serial killer like Jerry Blake, moving from family to family, but instead just went into hiding for nearly two decades.  His arrest came about after his story was featured on America's Most Wanted, and it was a fitting end to a mass murderer to spend life as a footnote in crime history only because a popular horror film had been based on him. 

It is a good thing that the Jerry Blake from Westlake's imagination was dark fantasy, but The Stepfather still feels a bit more realistic than the slasher that it was marketed as.  It does have some quips that are groaners and Stephen Shellen is a bit iffy as the aggrieved brother, but this movie revolves around Terry O'Quinn in the lead role and he sells it.  He does it so well in this film and the sequel that he found himself quickly typecast and voluntarily stepped back from acting for a while until he could do a reset on his career.  While we see the aftermath of his previous rampage and only see him commit two onscreen murders O'Quinn, with his fake smile and blank stares and sudden mood swings, makes Jerry Blake one of the few actually frightening killers to get his own franchise. 

Jill Schoelen and Shelley Hack are both solid as well, with the former doing many of her own stunts in the finale.  The atmosphere is also enhanced by Patrick Moraz's synth score despite the fact that at one point he incorporates a funky bass line when Ogilvie rushes to Blake's home after realizing who he is.  Director Joseph Ruben also deserves much of the credit as his camera is often in motion, telling the story as much as O'Quinn does.  

Even with the subplot of Ogilvie I still rank this among the best horror films of the 1980s.  It maintains its effectiveness after all these years despite lackluster sequels and a PG-13 remake.  It is also a reminder that exploitation cinema can be artful and not necessarily trash. 

The Stepfather (1987)

Time: 89 minutes

Starring: Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack, Stephen Shellen

Director: Joseph Ruben