Stepfather 2

"Tonight - Daddy's coming home - to slice up more than just the cake!"

1989 1h 33m EN

😐

5.5

MID

★5.5TMDB · 127

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

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"Stepfather" Jerry Blake escapes an insane asylum and winds up in another town, this time impersonating a marriage counselor. With a future wife and new stepson who love him, Blake eliminates anyone who stands in his way to building the perfect family.

“Tonight - Daddy's coming home - to slice up more than just the cake!”

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Cast

Terry O'Quinn
Dr. Gene Clifford / Jerry Blake
Meg Foster
Carol Grayland
Caroline Williams
Matty Crimmins
Jonathan Brandis
Todd Grayland
Henry Brown
Dr. Joseph Danvers
Mitchell Laurance
Phil Grayland
Miriam Byrd-Nethery
Sally Jenkins
Leon Martell
Walt 'Smitty' Smith

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jeff Burr
Writers: John Auerbach, Diane Heller
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

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jeff Burr, shot by Jacek Laskus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Terry O'Quinn and Meg Foster and Caroline Williams carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jeff Burr directs. Jacek Laskus behind the camera. Jim Manzie scores. Pasquale Buba 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

1Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
237 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
4Part of the "The Stepfather Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Jeff Burr, shot by Jacek Laskus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Jim Manzie. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Pasquale Buba shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Terry O'Quinn and Meg Foster and Caroline Williams carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Tonight - Daddy's coming home - to slice up more than just the cake!".
10IMDB entry: tt0098385 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 12 themes, including "parent child relationship", "stepfather", "sequel", "flashback".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jacek Laskus
Original score: Jim Manzie
Editing: Pasquale Buba
Production design: Byrnadette DiSanto
Costume design: Julie Carnahan
Makeup / hair: Michèle Burke
Sound: Bill Benten
Stunt coordinator: Gary Jensen
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,500,000
Box office: $1,519,796
Return: 101% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Stepfather 2 (1989)

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

Jeff Burr

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What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-02-07
★ 5/10
Despite the fact that he was shot enough times to kill an elephant in the first film (1987), the intervening years have worked miracles for “Jerry” (Terry Quinn) as he sits with his carefree shrink in an high security institution. Of course, sure as the sun comes up, it’s not that secure and after a gory exit he sets off to find a new ideal family. It doesn’t take long before he alights on single mom “Carol” (Meg Foster) and her lad “Todd” (Jonathan Brandis) and by impersonating a kindly counsellor, manages to inveigle his way into their lives. She has her fair share of suitors already, though - but, well you can see the rest of this plot from space. The actors and the writing are distinctly mediocre (if that’s not an oxymoron) and it’s about as formulaic as it’s possible to get as it yells television movie at us from start to finish. Quinn doesn’t manage to muster even the vaguest sense of menace and as the denouement looms we even manage to involve a broom cupboard, an hammer and some wedding cake! He whistles a good tune, though - but this is weak and derivative, sorry.

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