Stepfather II
| Stepfather II | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jeff Burr |
| Written by | John Auerbach |
| Produced by | William Burr Darin Scott Carol Lampman |
| Starring | Terry O'Quinn Meg Foster Caroline Williams Jonathan Brandis |
| Cinematography | Jacek Laskus |
| Edited by | Pasquale Buba |
| Music by | Jim Manzie |
| Distributed by | ITC Entertainment[1] Millimeter Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.5 million |
Stepfather II (also known as Stepfather II: Make Room for Daddy) is a 1989 American horror film directed by Jeff Burr and written by John Auerbach. It is a sequel to The Stepfather (1987) and stars Terry O'Quinn as the title character. The cast includes Meg Foster, Caroline Williams, and Jonathan Brandis.
Stepfather II received a limited theatrical release on November 3, 1989, and grossed $1.5 million at the box office. It received negative reviews from film critics.
A sequel, Stepfather III, was released in 1992.
Plot[edit]
Jerry Blake is institutionalized in Puget Sound. Blake has meetings with his psychiatrist. He kills the psychiatrist and a guard. He dons the guard's uniform to help him escape. Blake kills and robs a salesman for his car and money. Blake checks into a hotel and travels to Los Angeles.
Gene poses as a psychiatrist and soon meets Carol Grayland and leases a house across the street from her and her 13-year-old son Todd. Gene learns that Carol's husband Phil left his family the previous year. Gene begins courting Carol, but Phil returns. Gene persuades Carol to send him over for a meeting, during which Gene smashes a bottle on his head then stabs him to death. He covers up Phil's disappearance afterward by making it look like he ran off again. Gene and Carol arrange to get married.
Matty Crimmins becomes suspicious of Gene and begins looking through Gene's mail. She finds a letter addressed to the real Gene Clifford. She confronts Gene. Gene persuades her to let him tell Carol the truth about his past. Gene sneaks into Matty's house and strangles her to death. Gene takes Matty's last bottle of wine and crosses through the yard of Matty's neighbor Sam Watkins, who hears Gene whistling "Camptown Races," which he mentions to Carol the next day.
The wedding proceeds as planned. Carol recognizes bottles of wine sent by Matty's parents as the same brand Gene had the other night, and overhears Todd whistling "Camptown Races", which he says Gene taught him. Carol confronts him, whom he locks in a closet. Todd breaks out of the closet and saves his mother. Everyone is shocked to see them covered in blood until Carol collapses on the floor. The film ends with Gene getting up and collapsing on the floor by the destroyed cake. The scene shows that they are living happier and confident without Gene as they enjoy playing together in the park.
Cast[edit]
- Terry O'Quinn as Jerry Blake / Gene F. Clifford / The Stepfather
- Meg Foster as Carol Grayland
- Caroline Williams as Matty Crimmins
- Jonathan Brandis as Todd Grayland
- Henry Brown as Dr. Joseph Danvers
- Mitchell Laurance as Phil Grayland
- Miriam Byrd-Nethery as Sally Jenkins
- Leon Martell as Ralph "Smitty" Smith
- Renata Scott as Betty Willis
- John O'Leary as Sam Watkins
- Glen Adams as Salesman
- Eric Brown as Hotel Attendant
- Bob Gray as Choir Singer
- Rosemary Welden as Video Date
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
After a test screening of the film, studio executives Harvey and Bob Weinstein complained about the lack of blood and demanded re-shoots. Jeff Burr refused and director Doug Campbell was hired to do the reshoots. In an interview, Burr commented, "they cut a little bit of [the film] out and they added some badly done blood effects. Badly done, because Terry O’Quinn refused to do it. Really, they were meaningless, so that was irritating."[2]
Release[edit]
Home media[edit]
After the film's theatrical release, it was released on VHS by HBO Video in the United States, and in Canada around the same time by Cineplex Odeon. In 2003, the film was released on DVD by Miramax Films and the same year in Canada by Alliance Atlantis; it included audio commentary with director Jeff Burr and producer Darin Scott. In 2009, to coincide with the release of the Screen Gems remake of the original Stepfather, Synapse Films re-released Stepfather II on DVD with special features including the ones available on the Miramax and Alliance Atlantis releases, as well as new features such as a making-of documentary.[3][4]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Stepfather II was originally intended to be released direct to video; however, the producers were impressed enough with the sequel that it was released into theaters. The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by Millimeter Films on November 3, 1989.[5] It grossed $1,519,796 domestically at the box office.[6]
Critical response[edit]
The film received mostly negative reviews, with a 14% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 4.40/10 based on 7 reviews.[7] Variety stated "this dull sequel reduces the intriguing premise of the original Stepfather to the level of an inconsequential, tongue-in-cheek slasher film".[8] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post wrote that the film was cliche-ridden and lacked the reality-rooted horror that made the original film effective, finishing his review by stating "Stepfather 2 is just slick marketing trying to capitalize on unsettling art - and failing badly, at that".[9]
References[edit]
- ^ Stepfather II company credits at The New York Times
- ^ http://www.iconsoffright.com/IV_Burr.htm ICONS Interview with Director Jeff Burr
- ^ "Synapse's Stepfather 2 DVD, Sick Girl art, etc". Fangoria. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Synapse Announces 'Stepfather II' DVD". Bloody-Disgusting. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
- ^ "Company Credits for Stepfather II". imdb.com. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
- ^ "Stepfather II". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
- ^ "Stepfather II (1989)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
- ^ "Stepfather II". Variety. 1989-01-01. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
- ^ "Stepfather II (R)". The Washington Post. 1989-12-06. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
