MovieChat Forums > Blackout (1985) Discussion > Similarities to THE STEPFATHER?

Similarities to THE STEPFATHER?


(SPOILERS)

Description of THE STEPFATHER:

After wiping out his family, a homicidal maniac assumes a new identity with a new family in a small town where he has taken a job as a Realtor.

And isn't that pretty much the plot of BLACKOUT?

Except for the amnesia angle, this is a VERY similar story.

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I think it's possible that both films may have been inspired by the cast of John List, of Westfield, New Jersey who murdered his family in 1971 and went on the the run.

Some differences between this film and The Stepfather though.

***SPOILERS***

In Blackout, Ed Vincent, the man who killed his family is presumed dead, and there is a mystery to the viewer as to whether the survivor of the car crash, who is thought to be Allan Devlin, is the killer or not. As you stated, the amnesia factor is also a difference and of course he gets a new face due to the severe burns he received in the car wreck. In The Stepfather, we the audience know that Jerry Blake (played by Terry O'Quinn) is the murderer because we are shown that he is from the start. Also, the families that Jerry Blake kills are not his blood. He's in search of the perfect family. And it was the brother and uncle of the woman and children that Jerry Blake murdered who is trying to track the murderer down. In the other movie, we have the determined retired detective on the case, played by Richard Widmark who is trying to hunt down the killer.


Another difference in Blackout is that there is a rapist prowling around the neighborhood where the newly identified Allan Devlin settles, as there had been in the area where the murdered family resided.


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