Susan Granger’s review of “The Stepfather” (Screen Gems/Sony)
There are some movies that should not be re-made. This is one of them. Here’s why.
Back in 1987, long before he was stranded as John Locke on the mysterious island in “Lost,” Terry O’Quinn delivered an indelible performance as Jerry Blake, a seemingly nice man who is really a psychopathic killer. He marries a widow (Shelley Hack), whose defiant daughter (Jill Schoelen) is suspicious about his past. As well she should be. He has a nasty habit of marrying divorcees/widows and murdering them and their children when they fail to meet his expectations of the standards inherent in a ‘perfect’ family. Made by Joseph Ruben from a Donald Westlake screenplay, the original “Stepfather” was truly terrifying, igniting easily identifiable fears about a parent’s remarriage.
In this updated, cliché-filled version, screenwriter J.S. Carbone (“Prom Night” remake) transforms the daughter into a rebellious teenage son, Michael (22 year-old Penn Badgley from “Gossip Girl”), home from military school with a bikini-clad girl-friend, Kelly (Amber Heard). The titular stepfather has been re-named David Harris and is played by Dylan Walsh (“Nip/Tuck”), who lacks any of the subtle intensity of Terry O’Quinn’s creepy characterization, particularly when he gets momentarily confused and wonders aloud, “Who am I here?”
He is about to marry recent divorcee Susan Harding (Sela Ward), who has two young children (Braeden Lemasters, Skyler Samuels), in addition to Michael – along with a wary lesbian sister, Jackie (Paige Turco). Yet the only person who gives any real credence to Michael’s uneasy qualms is his estranged father (Jon Tenney).
Director Nelson McCormick, who helmed Carbone’s “Prom Night” remake and “Nip/Tuck,” fails to build up the necessary tension, truncating the mystery. Plus there’s the over-the-top rock music score by Charlie Clauser, whose claim to fame is the “Saw” franchise. Bottom line: this slasher remake just isn’t scary.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, the 2009 version of “The Stepfather” is an exploitive 2. If you’re hankering for a Halloween horror jolt, rent the ominous original –now available on dvd – and enjoy.
