Lost Treasures & Guilty Pleasures: The Stepfather

I could have added this to the Horror Movies You Should See post, but this one deserves it's own post.

The Stepfather tells the story of a reverse-"black widow": a man who marries into families, and then kills them, not for their money, but because he likes killing people. The "stepfather" is Jerry (Terry O'Quinn), who marries into the family of Susan and Stephanie ('80s staples Shelley Hack and Jill Schoelen). At first, Jerry seems like the world's nicest guy. At least to Susan. Stephanie never trusts her stepfather, and with good cause, because he's actually a serial killer on the loose. It's all good as long as Jerry is happy, but once Stephanie starts raising questions about his past, look out: it's gonna get messy.

This was probably the first time I'd ever seen Terry O'Quinn in anything. In fact, this movie is essential viewing if you're a Terry O'Quinn fan. If you think he's creepy on Lost or any of the other hundred things he's played the "Creepy Guy" in, you don't know what creepy is until you see this movie. He goes from perfectly normal to Freak City in a heartbeat. He's even got the great scene where he beats a guy to death with a 2x4 during an open house. Absolutely classic shit.

The movie itself is actually pretty good. Movies like this were a dime a dozen in the late '80s, but this is one of the better ones. Sure, it's a Cheesy '80s Movie, but a very well-made Cheesy '80s Movie.

It's a damn shame that his movie is essentially unavailable in the States. It's a great horror flick that everyone should see. Psycho killers don't get any creepier than this. Check it out.