The Stepfather

"He wanted a perfect family in a perfect town. But they couldn't measure up...Neither could the others..."

1987 1h 29m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 393

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

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Seemingly mild-mannered Henry Morrison has just murdered his entire family. After adopting a new identity and skipping town, he begins building a new relationship with a widow and her teenage daughter. However, he soon begins struggling to hide his true identity and maintain a grip on reality.

“He wanted a perfect family in a perfect town. But they couldn't measure up...Neither could the others...”

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Cast

Terry O'Quinn
Jerry Blake
Jill Schoelen
Stephanie Maine
Shelley Hack
Susan
Charles Lanyer
Dr. Bondurant
Stephen Shellen
Jim Ogilvie
Stephen E. Miller
Al Brennan
Robyn Stevan
Karen
Jeff Schultz
Paul Baker

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joseph Ruben
Writers: Donald E. Westlake, Brian Garfield, Carolyn Lefcourt
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Stepfather Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joseph Ruben, shot by John Lindley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Patrick Moraz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Bowers shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joseph Ruben directs. John Lindley behind the camera. Patrick Moraz scores. George Bowers cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
339 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
5Part of the "The Stepfather Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Joseph Ruben, shot by John Lindley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Patrick Moraz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor George Bowers shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Terry O'Quinn and Jill Schoelen and Shelley Hack carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "He wanted a perfect family in a perfect town. But they couldn't measure up...Neither could the others...".
11IMDB entry: tt0094035 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 10 themes, including "psychopath", "widow", "shower", "stepfather".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Lindley
Original score: Patrick Moraz
Editing: George Bowers
Production design: James William Newport
Costume design: Mina Mittelman
Makeup / hair: Susan Boyd
Sound: John L. Anderson
Stunt coordinator: John Wardlow
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,200,000
Box office: $2,488,740
Return: 207% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Stepfather (1987)

Awards

Sitges Film Festival Best Actress award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

The Stepfather Collection

The Stepfather is a 1987 American thriller film starring Terry O'Quinn in the title role. It is loosely based on the life of mass murderer John List, although the plot is more commonly associated with slasher films of the era than a true story. It was directed by Joseph Ruben and written by Donald E. Westlake, from a story by Westlake, Carolyn Lefcourt and Brian Garfield. This film was met with critical acclaim upon its release. The film was also followed by two sequels, released in 1989 and 1992 respectively and a remake also called The Stepfather which was released on October 16, 2009.

Also by

Joseph Ruben

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2019-09-05
★ 7/10
What if your stepfather is a psycho? After an amiable man (Terry O'Quinn) in the Seattle area slays his family he starts a new one under a different identity, but his discerning stepdaughter (Jill Schoelen) picks up on his questionable morality. “The Stepfather” (1987) is a solid crime drama/thriller with a bit o’ horror. Movies like “Psycho” (1960), “Play Misty for Me” (1971), “Halloween” (1978), “The Shining” (1980) and “Fatal Attraction” (1987) come to mind, but this is equal parts coming-of-age drama in the mold of “The Crush” (1993) with a sort of inverted story. O’Quinn effectively portrays the delusional titular character while Schoelen is reminiscent of a young Demi Moore. The decidedly 80’s score is quaint. The film runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot in the Vancouver area, including Edgemont Village. The main cast is rounded out by Shelley Hack (the girl’s mother), Charles Lanyer (her therapist) and Stephen Shellen (the justice-seeking brother of the original family). GRADE: B+
CinemaSerf2025-02-06
★ 6/10
Leaving a scene of carnage behind him, “Jerry” (Terry Quinn) chucks the evidence over the side of his departing ferry and goes off in search of a new life. He is soon settled down with “Susan” (Shelley Hack) and her teenage daughter “Stephanie” (Jill Schoelen). That all seems to be proceeding well enough, he’s got a job as an estate agent and though his relationship with his new step-daughter could be better, things seem fine. Suddenly, though, it’s as if a switch has been flipped and his previously more menacing character starts to rear its ugly head. His family aren’t quite as malleable as he required and so, well, you can imagine his reaction and the rest of the plot. I suspect his approach to a pain-in-the-ass teen might resonate with some, but perhaps not with a family who have to come to terms with his increasingly unpleasant behaviour and that’s really the gist of this. It’s not exactly original, nor does it stray very far from the path of predictability as the drama is repetitively protracted to maximise the sense of peril without really paying much attention to plausibility. We know that “Ogilvie” (Stephen Shellen) is on his trail, but that thread rather peters out before a denouement that is both rushed and clumsily sequel-boding. It’s ok, but nothing special, sorry.