Film Review: Stepfather 2: Make Room For Daddy (1989)

Also known as: Stepfather II (original title)
Release Date: November 3rd, 1989
Directed by: Jeff Burr
Written by: John Auerbach
Music by: Jim Manzie
Cast: Terry O’Quinn, Meg Foster, Caroline Williams, Jonathan Brandis

Millimeter Films, Part II Productions, ITC Productions, 93 Minutes

Review:

“Haven’t I been like a father to that boy? I even had sex with you for Chrissake!” – Gene Clifford

Stepfather 2: Make Room for Daddy doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor but it’s still a good, slasher-y, black comedy. And while this isn’t really comedy, Terry O’Quinn is just so damn entertaining and kind of goofy as the murderous stepfather.

I think the thing that really makes this chapter in the trilogy of films stand out on its own is the rest of the cast.

First, you have Meg Foster, who I always appreciated in They Live and Masters of the Universe. You’ve also got Caroline Williams, who I will always associate with Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, my favorite film in that series. Lastly, you’ve got a really young Jonathan Brandis just before he’d go on to do The NeverEnding Story II and a slew of other movies.

The four main actors in this all play off of each other really well. I especially liked the tension between O’Quinn and Williams, as she continued to put him on the defensive by investigating who he really was.

Brandis was really impressive, as he was still really young but he wasn’t annoying and carried his own alongside the rest of the cast.

For the most part, this movie repeats the beats of the first one but even if it’s a bit derivative, O’Quinn hams it up and makes it interesting. Also, when he turns psycho on a dime, it’s convincing.

There is a third movie that came out a few years later, which O’Quinn didn’t return for. I’m not super enthused about checking it out because of that but I may still give it a watch to review it in the near future.

Rating: 6.5/10

Film Review: The Stepfather (1987)

Also known as: Kill, Daddy, Kill (Germany)
Release Date: January 23rd, 1987 (Los Angeles premiere)
Directed by: Joseph Ruben
Written by: Donald E. WEestlake, Carolyn Lefcourt, Brian Garfield
Music by: Patrick Moaz
Cast: Terry O’Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack

ITC Productions, New Century Vista Film Company, 89 Minutes

Review:

“I wanna ask you something. Are you interested in buying a house… Or are you interested in me?” – Jerry Blake

Since I had never seen any of the Stepfather films, I figured I’d rectify that this Halloween season. I, at least, want to watch the two with Terry O’Quinn because that guy is awesome and I really wanted to see how good he was in the role of an all-American dad/serial killer.

I’m glad to say that he was tremendous. I loved the hell out of him in both films. My review for the second one will be up in a few days,

I have to point out that this movie has one of the best openings in ’80s horror. It shows O’Quinn, as one of his multiple personas, getting ready for work but as it rolls on, some pretty messed up shit is slowly revealed until you see him reach the bottom of the stairs and step into a room full of bloody carnage and dead bodies. It sets the tone of the movie tremendously well and it stays burned into your memory, as you watch this psycho try to play the part of a happy, successful, suburban patriarch.

Beyond O’Quinn, the two other main characters, played by Jill Schoelen and Shelley Hack, are really good in this. I especially liked Schloelen, who I only know from Popcorn and the Robert Englund version of The Phantom of the Opera. Her scenes with O’Quinn are really good and terrifying and she does a really good job of wearing her fear and emotion on her face.

This movie was actually a bit more brutal than I had expected and it has a really solid finale and a pretty satisfying ending. Honestly, it’s a much better than average ’80s horror flick and I can’t believe that I had slept on it this long.

Rating: 7.5/10