The Stepfather (2009)

From NetFlix:

In this spine-tingling remake of the 1987 thriller, a series of mysterious events leads teenager Michael Harding to suspect that his mother’s new boyfriend may be a dangerous serial killer known for preying on families.

Ever since I watched Dylan Walsh as Dr. Sean McNamara in the TV series “Nip/Tuck”, I have hoped to see his career advance. At the very least he succeeds in this film in playing a cleverly creepy serial killer. This is no spoiler because you know from the very beginning that his “hobby” is inserting himself as a new stepfather in a family whose parents have recently divorced and when things don’t work out then killing the entire family. In this film you watch him try again. Tension consists in watching Michael, the oldest son in the new family, little by little coming to suspect that something is wrong. Along the way quite a few people are murdered. You will recognize the first husband Jay as the actor Jon Tenney who plays the husband of “The Closer” on TV. Finally at the very end of the film an actress has a brief cameo appearance as a mom with two boys in a big box store. That actress also played in many episodes of “Nip/Tuck”.

Just sit back (you can’t relax during this film) and hold on tight.

Leave a Reply