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Released by: Synapse Films
Released on: 9/29/2009
Director: Jeff Burr
Cast: Terry O'Quinn, Meg Foster, Caroline Williams, Jonathan Brandis, Henry Brown, Mitchell Laurance
Year: 1989
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The Movie:
Picking up where the original film left off, Jeff Burr's 1989 sequel to the original The Stepfather once again finds the always enjoyable Terry O'Quinn in the role of Jerry Blake. Having survived the end of the first picture, he's been tucked away safely inside the confines of a remote mental institution but as any horror movie fan knows, you can't keep a psychopath in a mental hospital for long sure enough, he breaks out and resumes his murderous ways.
After offing a few folks along the way, Blake winds up settling down in a fancy suburb and taking on the role of a family psychiatrist. With his new practice in full swing, he soon catches the eye of a recently divorced woman named Carol (Meg Foster) who wastes no time getting involved with Blake, who in return finds himself the unwitting subject of an investigation lead by a Carol's weasel of an ex-husband. Carol's son (Jonathan Brandis) is also a bit suspicious of his new stepfather, and rightly so as they all find out once Blake starts killing people…
What made the first film interesting in regards to O'Quinn's character was that he had this relentlessness and this coldness to him that made him genuinely frightening. This time around, things aren't played quite as straight, with Blake reveling in his murders and almost playing things with tongue slightly in cheek. His interaction with Meg Foster's Carol isn't as sincere as it could have been and the movie suffers a bit for this but her character has this sadness to her, accentuated by her instantly recognizable eyes, that works in her favor. The rest of the cast are pretty forgettable but O'Quinn and Foster are able to make up for that.
What the film does have working in its favor in addition to the casting is an interesting air of violence. There isn't much in the way of gratuitous bloodshed and there's really very little gore here but the violence packs a pretty solid punch and carries more impact than you might expect. Thanks to some good editing and camerawork and some determined efforts from O'Quinn Blake's actions seem to further the storyline rather than distract from it. While this isn't a classic, there's some strong suspense here and that makes the movie pretty worthwhile. Further expanding on Blake's 'issues' a bit also gives this picture a bit more meat on its bones than you get from your average slasher sequel, which is never a bad thing. This killer has at least got some personality and the scenes where he's dealing with a psychiatrist while in the mental institution are even a little bit moving, even if we can tell he's taking the shrink for a ride from the get-go.
The film isn't perfect, but it builds nicely to a pretty memorable conclusion and it features Terry O'Quinn in the role that horror fans know and love him for. That's enough to make the movie worth checking out, and this Synapse DVD is the ideal way to do it…
Video/Audio/Extras:
It's a little grainy in spots but otherwise the 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer on this disc is pretty solid. While it looks like a product of the eighties, color reproduction is fine and the black levels are pretty consistent. There isn't much print damage at all nor are there any noticeable authoring discrepancies to report.
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track sounds alright. Range is a little limited but the levels are well balanced and dialogue is easy enough to follow and understand. There aren't any problems with hiss or distortion to report and this is, overall, a solid track.
Synapse has carried over the supplements from the older Miramax DVD release that came out a few years back starting with the commentary track featuring director Jeff Burr and producer Darrin Scott. Covering all the bases you'd expect, the due talk about the origin of the sequel, what it was like following up the first film, working with the cast, and about some of the decisions that affected the final outcome of the film. It's a pretty informative talk and worth a listen if you're a fan of the film.
Up next is a collection of deleted and alternate scenes. While it's unfortunate that this material is presented fullframe and taken from a tape source, it's good to see it included as there's over a half an hour's worth of material to go through here, some of which is quite interesting.
Exclusive to this Synapse release is The Stepfather Chronicles: Daddy's New Home (30:16) a featurette that wrangles up Jeff Burr and Darrin Scott again as well as writer John Auerbach, actress Caroline Williams, cinematographer Jacek Laskus and last but not least, the film's editor Pasquale Buba. There's some interesting stuff in here as it gives us a look at the film not only from the perspective of those who participated in the commentary track but also from a few new interviewees. It would have been nice to see Terry O'Quinn show up here, or Meg Foster too for that matter, but otherwise this is a nicely shot and well put together featurette that provides a welcome retrospective look at the picture's history.
Rounding out the extras are a teaser and a theatrical trailer for the film, a still gallery, menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
You've got to give Synapse credit for putting out a nice package for this one. The film may not be on par with the original in terms of scares or production values but it's entertaining enough, and the disc is loaded with extras.