'The Stepfather' disappoints
Nick Frumson
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: TruLife
"The Stepfather" is a poor excuse for a movie. This movie is similar to "Jennifer's Body" in that it showcases young hotties. Instead of Megan Fox, however, it stars Penn Badgley as Michael, the protagonist, and Amber Heard as the bimbo girlfriend. This movie is rated PG-13 and is a remake of the original 1987 version. A horror/thriller movie not rated R is automatically a big red flag for "waste of time."
"The Stepfather" takes place in Oregon in what seems to be early May. Upon his return from military school, Michael finds his mom, Susan, engaged to David, a man she has only known for six months. Susan and David are played by Sela Ward and Dylan Walsh, respectively. Although David appears to be the perfect man for their family, there is something not right about him. As the movie progresses, neighbors die and the remaining characters begin to question David.
The climax fight scene is truly heart-racing. The viewer sees David unravel as he drops his act, forgets which persona he is using and starts attacking his new family. After a suspenseful chase scene, Susan is trapped in the upstairs bathroom with David trying to break in. The movie goes against the helpless woman being saved by a male protagonist cliché when Susan grabs some broken glass off the floor and stabs David in the neck. Later in the scene, David is confronted by all three of the remaining characters. It was enjoyable to see this movie break away, however slightly, from the "bad scary movie" mold.
This movie definitely had the creepiness factor. As an attempt to replace the traditional "pop out" moments in thriller flicks, the movie uses a strong but not overbearing creepiness, shown early in the movie. It portrays David shaving and packing up his stuff, neatly laid out on the counter. As he leaves his house the viewer see his children and wife lying dead on the floor. The camera frequently pans away from the scene to reveal David watching from a distance or through a window. The movie uses the classic "closing the mirrored medicine cabinet to reveal someone standing behind you" trick, which is pretty much a staple among crappy scary movies. But in this movie's case, they use a basement door.
The movie's antagonist David sets this movie apart from others. He isn't just the insane, psycho serial killer who randomly kills people. His family dies or he kills them (not really sure which), and he becomes obsessed with finding the perfect family. His obsession makes him crazy about the "ideal 1950s family" but not the cliché "kill everyone" crazy like most bad guys are. Moviegoers witness the progression of his mental breakdown and see how different he is from other bad guys in scary movies.
The music in this movie makes it semi-worthwhile. The music was excellent and incredibly creepy. It actually had melody and a quality construction. Good music is hard to come by, but "The Stepfather" pulls it off nicely.
"The Stepfather" takes place in Oregon in what seems to be early May. Upon his return from military school, Michael finds his mom, Susan, engaged to David, a man she has only known for six months. Susan and David are played by Sela Ward and Dylan Walsh, respectively. Although David appears to be the perfect man for their family, there is something not right about him. As the movie progresses, neighbors die and the remaining characters begin to question David.
The climax fight scene is truly heart-racing. The viewer sees David unravel as he drops his act, forgets which persona he is using and starts attacking his new family. After a suspenseful chase scene, Susan is trapped in the upstairs bathroom with David trying to break in. The movie goes against the helpless woman being saved by a male protagonist cliché when Susan grabs some broken glass off the floor and stabs David in the neck. Later in the scene, David is confronted by all three of the remaining characters. It was enjoyable to see this movie break away, however slightly, from the "bad scary movie" mold.
This movie definitely had the creepiness factor. As an attempt to replace the traditional "pop out" moments in thriller flicks, the movie uses a strong but not overbearing creepiness, shown early in the movie. It portrays David shaving and packing up his stuff, neatly laid out on the counter. As he leaves his house the viewer see his children and wife lying dead on the floor. The camera frequently pans away from the scene to reveal David watching from a distance or through a window. The movie uses the classic "closing the mirrored medicine cabinet to reveal someone standing behind you" trick, which is pretty much a staple among crappy scary movies. But in this movie's case, they use a basement door.
The movie's antagonist David sets this movie apart from others. He isn't just the insane, psycho serial killer who randomly kills people. His family dies or he kills them (not really sure which), and he becomes obsessed with finding the perfect family. His obsession makes him crazy about the "ideal 1950s family" but not the cliché "kill everyone" crazy like most bad guys are. Moviegoers witness the progression of his mental breakdown and see how different he is from other bad guys in scary movies.
The music in this movie makes it semi-worthwhile. The music was excellent and incredibly creepy. It actually had melody and a quality construction. Good music is hard to come by, but "The Stepfather" pulls it off nicely.
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