The Stepfather Movie Review

Blended families can be awkward. 

Kids have to get used to a new parent. Parents have to get used to new kids. And then there can be myriad other issues to tackle--from whether spanking's acceptable to the "right" way to decorate a Christmas tree.

And, well, if the new family member happens to be a homicidal serial killer, that just makes the whole scenario even more ticklish.

Which brings us to the case of David Harris, who's preparing to be a stepfather. It's a role he's quite familiar with: He meets a woman, marries her, ingratiates himself to the children and then, when he decides it's time to move on, kills them. The last time he did so was in Salt Lake City, stabbing his wife and three stepchildren to death sometime around Christmas. 

Now he's starting fresh in Oregon. He meets Susan there--in the cookie aisle of the local grocery store--charms her into asking him out and, a mere six months later, they're living together and picking out floral arrangements for their impending wedding. 

Susan's two youngest children seem OK with the new arrangement--at least at first. Oh, sure, there was that little issue of David nearly choking little Sean because the volume on his video game system was too loud. But that, David explains, was really a misunderstanding.

Susan's oldest son, Michael, on the other hand, is not so easily charmed. Just back from

 military school (where he was sent for lying and cheating and getting really, really angry), Michael's a little more wary of his stepfather-to-be. 

Why, for instance, would David tell him that his only daughter, Michelle, was killed in a car accident, and five minutes later mention that his only daughter, Lisa, would've been 11 this year? What's with all the padlocks on the cabinets in the basement? And why did that nosy Mrs. Cutter say she had seen David on America's Most Wanted?

And speaking of Mrs. Cutter, why was she found dead in her basement just a day after the aforementioned reference to a show about dangerous criminals who are still on the loose?

David, titular character in The Stepfather, shares a lot of commonalities with the movie he stars in. 

The film shows up, invites you in and tells you everything will be fine. Then--just when you're getting cozy in your seat with your ultra-sized soda and Milk Duds--it starts hammering you with problematic content. 

Sexual content? Sure. We have our share of skimpily-clad women, here. And sexual activity is implied (if not gratuitously portrayed in this PG-13 film). Violence? Oh, yes. That base is covered, too. Language? Bad behavior? Yup, The Stepfather has it all.

Well, actually, it doesn't have it all. What's missing is the most important thing: A compelling reason to see it.