The Stepfather

In 1987, long before he was John Locke stranded on a mysterious island in TV's Lost, Terry O'Quinn delivered an indelible performance as Jerry Blake, a seemingly nice man who is really a psychopathic killer. Jerry married a widow whose defiant daughter was suspicious about his past—with good reason, it turns out, as he seemed to have a habit of marrying divorcees/widows, then murdering them and their children when they failed to live up to his expectations. Directed by Joseph Ruben from a Donald Westlake screenplay, the original Stepfather was truly terrifying—unlike this updated, cliché-filled redo from director Nelson McCormick, in which screenwriter J.S. Cardone renames the titular stepfather David Harris (Dylan Walsh, who lacks the subtle intensity of O'Quinn's creepy characterization) and transforms the daughter into a rebellious teenage son named Michael (Penn Badgley), home from military school with a bikini-clad girlfriend (Amber Heard). David is about to marry recent divorcee Susan Harding (Sela Ward), who has two young children (Braeden Lemasters, Skyler Samuels) in addition to Michael, as well as a wary lesbian sister (Paige Turco); yet the only person who gives any real credence to Michael's qualms is his estranged father (Jon Tenney). Failing to build the necessary tension for a successful thriller, this unnecessary remake is not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary (by costars Penn Badgley and Dylan Walsh, and director Nelson McCormick), an “Open House” making-of featurette (20 min.), a “Visualizing the Stunts” segment (12 min.), an episode of “The Bannen Way” web series (7 min.), a gag reel (5 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray version is the BD-Live “movieIQ” trivia function. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an unnecessary remake.] (S. Granger)