Stepfather 2 (1989)

STEPFATHER 2 opens w/ a quick recap of the first film. In the present, Jerry has somehow survived his wounds, and sits in a psychiatric hospital. Needless to say, Jerry wants out, so he can find that perfect family he so fervently seeks. Through his own cunning and some boneheaded security lapses by hospital staff, Jerry -his name is Gene Clifford now- gets busy locating his next target. Carol Grayland (Meg Foster) and her son, Todd (Jonathan Brandis) live across the street from Jerry / Gene's new abode, where he's set himself up as a family counselor (!!). Super conveniently, Carol needs the "doctor's" help. As fate -and Gene- would have it, love is in the air, and wedding bells are soon about to ring. That is, once Gene takes care of Carol's pesky ex-husband, before he ruins everything! Oh, and that nosy, mail-carrying friend of hers, Matty (Caroline Williams)! Oops-y daisy! Time for Dr. Clifford to get to work. Problems solved! Will Carol ever wake up and smell the madness? As sequels go, this is a good one, though it isn't as stellar as the first film. O'Quinn shines w/ the same lunacy, and Ms. Foster's character is just as clueless as Shelley Hack before her. The church finale is... breathtaking!...

As far as inevitable and unnecessary sequels go, the adequately acted and directed "Stepfather II: Make Room for Daddy" suffers from the fact that we've seen all of this before and will know everything that we can expect. This simply fails to bring anything new to the table. The main reason why it would work (and earn an extra point) is because the filmmakers were able to bring back the original Stepfather, the great Terry O'Quinn, to once again obsess over his search for the "perfect" family and idealized suburban life.As we see from the opening, our merry psycho has survived being shot and stabbed (naturally) and been sent to the nuthouse. Wouldn't you know it: he figures out a method of escaping and hightails it for a different area, and quickly gets up to all of his old tricks. Masquerading this time as a psychiatrist, he sets his sights on real estate agent Carol Grayland (Meg Foster), the single mother of a son named Todd (Jonathan Brandis). Assuming the identity of a "Gene Clifford", he worms his way into their lives.Too much of this is utterly predictable, including characters who seem intelligent but end up acting completely stupid. Director Jeff Burr, whose other horror sequel credits include "Pumpkinhead II" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre III", does manage to create some suspense, and creates a few amusing touches here and there. He does the best he can with the uninspired script.Foster and Brandis are reasonably appealing, and Caroline Williams of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" fame offers an engaging presence in the supporting role of Carols' concerned friend Matty who's suspicious of Gene; Mitchell Laurance is appropriately smarmy in his brief turn as the unreliable ex-husband / father.Dedicated horror fans may derive some entertainment out of this; others are advised to stay away.Followed by another sequel, "Stepfather III" sans O'Quinn; this movies' premiere coincided with the arrest of real-life murderer John List, whose story inspired the script for the first movie.Six out of 10.

Terry O'Quinn reprises his role as the psychopath searching for the perfect family and willing to kill anyone who stands in his way. The first was more of a thriller while Jeff Burr's sequel is more or less a violent slasher film. Escaping from prison thanks to ridiculous means(..a psychiatrist wanting to help "rehabilitate" him, allows O'Quinn to meet with him, absent handcuffs, with the security guard waiting outside!It was an issue of trust, and O'Quinn saw fit to take advantage of such foolishness), O'Quinn uproots in a nice suburban neighborhood assuming the identity of a shrink, soon bewitching a real estate agent and her son(Meg Foster and Jonathan Brandis). Foster's husband, played by Mitchell Laurance, a dentist, took off with his receptionist and attempts to re-enter her life to the chagrin of O'Quinn. Also disrupting matters is Foster's gal pal, Caroline Williams, a postal worker who senses something's wrong about Mr. Right. Will O'Quinn allow certain people to interfere with his plans of betrothal? Or, will he solve such complications through violent means? Burr's direction is just as flashy and colorful as ever, attempting to better rather mediocre material. The movie is as predictable as they come, helped somewhat by a solid cast. Caroline Williams(..best known in Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre II)has a substantial role as Foster's snooping best friend, and pays a heavy price for attempting to protect her from O'Quinn. Foster and Brandis have rather thankless roles here, more or less servicing the plot as potential victims-in-the-making. This is O'Quinn and Williams' show all the way, and Terry capitalizes on the many nuances of his character, trying to develop him despite a plot which would wish to have him just murder people like some soulless madman. Amusing use of the tune "Camptown Races", whistled, and how it plays in the undoing of O'Quinn.

Though the first was slightly better, I wouldn't count this sequel out. 'Stepfather 2: Make Room for Daddy' was all but equal (if not for the horrid closing) in reference to acting of the extras and the suburb job O'Quinn did on both. And with such a short film (I consider anything under 1½ hours short) I loved the long intro with Stepfather working his psycho madness on his psychologist. Honestly, they were good scenes. And then you're thrust back into Stepfather's routine of finding lost souls to take down. I will say this for #2: there was a lot of humor that despite it being a real b-movie, should've-been-direct to video, that still makes me laugh out loud. Also, I loved Meg Foster (back in 1989 when I first saw it) and those eyes – they mesmerized me. Today's watching makes me cringe at her acting, but still, those eyes. The biggest problems with the film happen towards the middle and second half. Again we get this Stepfather that apparently is invincible in regards to all the traces of DNA, evidence, fingerprints, etc around and a mail carrier who (in broad daylight) snoops around people's mail, opens it and then actually brags about it. Sure, it's a movie, but that was harder to shallow than Stepfather getting away with all this. And finally, the rushed end-job was so out of left field (see them walking down the isle) it all-but almost ruined the movie. Again, O'Quinn saves the movie with his solid Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, a role he played so perfectly in 1 & 2. On a side note, I remember seeing this 11/10/89 (almost 20 years ago) and geekly enough, I still have the movie stub. Without having seeing #1 and only 14, I loved it back then.Side Note (basically just for my own fond memories): Yes, I am a geek; I collect/save my movie stubs. Well, since 1989 and I thought the one I saved on 11/10/1989 for 'Stepfather 2: Make Room for Daddy' was the first (I actually have that summer's as well: 'Batman' et al.) I remember seeing this movie at UA Metro (which has been destroyed for many years now) farthest left screen and alone, but they must've not carded as I was 14. I used to ride my bike roughly 3½ miles to Metrocenter in Phoenix, AZ, get a small cheese pizza at Peter Piper Pizza next door with a drink and then ride over to see whatever playing. Those were the good ole days, when I wasn't so critical about movies and just loved the thrill of going. That being said, still, to date, 1989 is my favorite movie year of all time: 'Batman,' 'Lethal Weapon 2,' 'The Little Mermaid,' 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,' 'Back to the Future Part II,' 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child' and even 'License to Kill,' 'Ghostbusters 2' (I still have my glow-in-the-dark 'Ghostbusters 2' AMC cup, and yes, it still works) and 'Star Trek V: The Final Frontier' were fun to watch, because it was fun to go to the movies. I'm sure I'm missing some I saw that year (such as this movie) or in the years following (I just checked to see at least a 100 more I loved that year.) Maybe it's just the excitement of finally getting out on my own, my own bike, and watching dozens of movies (many 2-3+ times) that make 1989 so magical. Maybe that the studios were looking to make quality over box office. Though I am sure they wanted to make money, but look at 1990 since and how it became almost ONLY about money.Just now, looking at the list of 1989 releases, I am in total agreeance with my statement. 1989 was the best year for movies of all time. (Yes, this is all placed in a review for 'Stepfather 2,' and no, I wouldn't put this anywhere near the top of that year. I am mainly speaking of the experience.) Look for yourself and see how many you used to love, or still do.