Michael Harding returns home from military school to find his mother happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David. As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there with a helpful hand. Is he really the man of her dreams or could David be hiding a dark side?
THE STEPFATHER is a sufficient thriller that gets the job done the way you expect it to. It has suspense, good performances, and is well made. I haven't seen the original film starring Terry O'Quinn so I can't compare it with the remake. However, I can say the remake is entertaining and is engaging while it lasts. What more can you ask for?
The thing that I liked the most here was the family dynamics. I didn't know what to expect from Penn Badgley, who plays the main character, but he pulls off a very convincing performance. Sela Ward as the mother is just great and the pretty blond who shows some skin, Amber Heard, can actually act! Paige Turco and Jon Tenney were really good in their roles as well. However, it's obvious that Dylan Walsh is the main star of the film. He does a fantastic job as the crazy stepfather. Some of his scenes just gave me chills.
There's also quite a bit of suspense in here, which surprised me. Sure, there's one cat jump scare (don't you just hate those?), but that's forgivable because there was only one. Some of the death scenes were quite disturbing as well. Being a PG-13 movie and all, you might expect death scenes with no blood to be quite "lame," as they say it, but that's where you're wrong. They're pretty realistic and not over the top as you might have seen in other films.
If there's one thing I must complain about, it's the payoff. I thought it was way too short and that it could have been longer. In the end, however, the remake keeps you very interested until the very end. There's rarely any moment where you'll find yourself looking at your watch because the thriller gets the job done and does it efficiently and effectively.
