15 reviews
The problem with this TV movie? It isn't trashy enough! Andrea Roth's portrayal of twisted anti-heroine Susan Heller is the saving grace of this tawdry thriller. She alternates sweetness and villainy well but there are times when she could have hammed it up more. I also found the structure of the film amateur. It starts improbably and little background information is revealed. It is not clear why Susan revisits the horse-ranch until more than half-way through. Little is revealed about Susan's mysterious upbringing, leaving her murderous deeds harder to understand. Another problem was the dour performance by the other daughter who was supposed to represent goodness in contrast to Susan's evilness. She was far from sympathetic, allowing Susan to take centre stage. Not the best of its genre.
No pun intended - with movies like this one, you may not always know what you'll be getting. In this case, you have a movie that could be called decent. Not because it will surprise you (quite the opposite, this is as predictable as you can imagine - again no pun intended) ... but because it has some nice moments in it ... although nice may not be the right word to use for it ... because she is not playing nice (yes I know another pun - I live for them, like characters in movies like this one live for revenge ... or mayhem in general).
If you are into easy thrillers (or whatever you would call this very low budget effort) and do not care that much about acting and other things (quality of sets and video and so forth) ... you could do worse I reckon .. on the other hand, there are so many movies ... maybe you should not waste your time on something like this ... as I did.
If you are into easy thrillers (or whatever you would call this very low budget effort) and do not care that much about acting and other things (quality of sets and video and so forth) ... you could do worse I reckon .. on the other hand, there are so many movies ... maybe you should not waste your time on something like this ... as I did.
The Stepdaughter? After watching this I am left wondering why it was even called that? Was there even a stepdaughter in it? Was Susan/Karen someone's stepdaughter?
But, on to the movie itself. It was interesting enough to keep you watching and wondering a little, but most of the time I spent groaning and rolling my eyes at the various plot holes and silliness. At times it is amazingly predictable, other times mildly suspenseful, but most times only slightly entertaining. My favorite cliches include the little "idiot" boy saving the day, the bumbling lawman, the good-looking big stud farm hand trying to force himself on her, and "I'm so crazy I talk to my doll". Then after all the buildup and clues start coming together... the payoff is very weak I felt.
I don't want to be all negative about any film, so I'll say that Andrea Roth does a good job as does Lisa Dean Ryan I thought. At least for what they had to work with.
4/10
But, on to the movie itself. It was interesting enough to keep you watching and wondering a little, but most of the time I spent groaning and rolling my eyes at the various plot holes and silliness. At times it is amazingly predictable, other times mildly suspenseful, but most times only slightly entertaining. My favorite cliches include the little "idiot" boy saving the day, the bumbling lawman, the good-looking big stud farm hand trying to force himself on her, and "I'm so crazy I talk to my doll". Then after all the buildup and clues start coming together... the payoff is very weak I felt.
I don't want to be all negative about any film, so I'll say that Andrea Roth does a good job as does Lisa Dean Ryan I thought. At least for what they had to work with.
4/10
- Scott_Parton
- May 8, 2001
- Permalink
A lot of these direct-to-video movies aren't always the greatest, because they obviously couldn't even make it to the theater. I have no clue why this wasn't in theaters. It wasn't all that bad. Andrea Roth and Lisa Dean Ryan were rather good, and the story was really great. I recommend this movie. I give The Stepdaughter a 7 out of 10. :)
- nightroses
- Sep 8, 2021
- Permalink
When a Young Beatuful Woman Named Susan Miller Who Throughout Of Her Entire Life
Been into Different Foster Homes Years Later When She Was Older She Finds One Day She's Sees a Paper Ad Of a Ranch Working Happy Family And The Wife in The Picture Ad Just Might Be Susan Miller's Birth Mother And Who Sets Out Looking For Her Real Birth Mother And To Get Revenge On Her For She Did By Leaving Her Abandoned After She Was Born. Andrea Roth Plays The Main Title Villian As Susan Miller. i Consider The Stepdaughter a Great Lost Gem Of a Movie.
I'd never seen this before. And man was I shocked to see Tommy Gavin's wife Janet and super wow Buck Rogers is in it too!
This way over predictable schlock is really remindful of a Hallmark Channel movie. I mean it is really pretty bad.
The general gist of course is the silly stepdaughter becomes a creepy killer because of whatever background she had as if that's some sort of excuse. In the tradition of the Stepfather series of movies which were also fairly bad.
The movie is full of overused cliches and dumb characters. And the end was really bad and dumb. But at least there were closing words from Buck Rogers.
3/10.
This way over predictable schlock is really remindful of a Hallmark Channel movie. I mean it is really pretty bad.
The general gist of course is the silly stepdaughter becomes a creepy killer because of whatever background she had as if that's some sort of excuse. In the tradition of the Stepfather series of movies which were also fairly bad.
The movie is full of overused cliches and dumb characters. And the end was really bad and dumb. But at least there were closing words from Buck Rogers.
3/10.
- wandernn1-81-683274
- Oct 14, 2023
- Permalink
This film generates a lot of hate but it's not so bad. It is teribly format and there are so many ananswered qudestions and loose ends but ... it's a made-for-tv movie that has to rein in the blood and gore and doesn't care about things making sense, For example, Susan does say something about her stepfather (not much) but because of the very limited backstory we don't really get why the film called The Stepdaughter. The way she answers questions it's as if she's trying to get caught in lies. But... Andrea Roth is extremly dishy and it's nice to see her runnning around and the ranch setting is really beautiful, so it's not too bad a ride at all.
While not a wholly original or fantastic movie, it is better than a lot of the other direct-to-video thrillers. Andrea Roth & Lisa Dean Ryan both do really well with their parts. If you can overlook the more predictable plot points, it is a descent movie to watch.
The Stepdaughter is a great Direct-To-Video Title Starring (Andrea Roth. It Started as a homecoming but became a nightmare for one family. Susan Heller (Andrea Roth) is a person who's had years of abuse and neglect and she's out for revenge. I give the movie a 10 great Thriller.
An unsuspecting family takes in a woman named Susan (Andrea Roth), who claims to have been in a car accident. Of course, the viewers know that Susan has just committed a coldblooded murder. The victim just happens to work on the very ranch that Susan has now "stumbled" upon.
The family has no idea that this woman knows who they are. Only the daughter seems to smell a rat. Mom and dad are oblivious, and junior even goes so far as to take Susan to a cave to show her the bottomless pit he's discovered. No one else knows about it.
This could come in very handy!
THE STEPDAUGHTER is a suspenseful movie, though it's pretty obvious what Susan's up to and why she's picked this particular family. Her state of mind is shown to be... troubled. Especially, since she has a doll that she talks to. A lot! The tension builds well, and Ms. Roth's character is sly and diabolical...
The family has no idea that this woman knows who they are. Only the daughter seems to smell a rat. Mom and dad are oblivious, and junior even goes so far as to take Susan to a cave to show her the bottomless pit he's discovered. No one else knows about it.
This could come in very handy!
THE STEPDAUGHTER is a suspenseful movie, though it's pretty obvious what Susan's up to and why she's picked this particular family. Her state of mind is shown to be... troubled. Especially, since she has a doll that she talks to. A lot! The tension builds well, and Ms. Roth's character is sly and diabolical...
This is a great thriller. Your eyes can not leave the screen because the acting is so good.. What tricks will the girl do to win this family??? It will warn us to be careful when you take strangers into our family circles. Add beautiful horses and great scenery and you have a hit movie for all times,, Bravo
- Captain Ken
- Apr 7, 2002
- Permalink
not a great film by any stretch of imagination but also not the worse of this B movie thriller genre (what? no Billy R. Moses?).I thought the villainess was passably convincing and compelling and I absolutely rooted for her over the daughter-from-hell good daughter...I dont know if it was the acting or the role but she really really annoyed me. The actor playing the "slow" brother gave a performance that was insulting to special people everywhere (even in comparison to Cuba Gooding Jr and Sean Penn). I so wanted this to be a bad guy wins movie. The actress who played the mother wasnt bad..i know I have seen her but cant place her name right now
- Dfredsparks
- Jun 24, 2004
- Permalink
- the_last_shadow_2000
- Jun 14, 2002
- Permalink