I watch this movie in the early 90's and remember thinking that its better because of Terry O'Quinn, who now plays Locke on the TV show Lost. He made the movie and with another actor, it would not be the cult favorite it would be today. I have watched him over the years and he just shines now as Locke. The movie is well-done for a horror, psychological flick, but his acting is what clinches it.
share[deleted]
I agree, a very convicing and chilling performance from O'Quinn.
"I want the mohawk!"
O'Quinn really made The Stepfather for me. I was thinking "How come this guy is not well known?" He is now,thanks to Lost,but i also remember him as Peter Watts in the show "Millennium",he was great in that too. Also he was in "Alias" and the "X-Files"movie. His superb performance in The Stepfather, reminds me that a girlfriend i was dating at the time said,apart from the killings,her father was just like Jerry Blake. I had the film on dvd,and i hadnt seen it in years.I think the film is still brilliant now,and they should have left it as a stand alone movie.
share[deleted]
dido
shareI absolutely agree with you! Every one thinks he's cool as Locke but fail to see that he was a great actor before that. MillenniuM, The X Files etc, all filled with great performances. He is a very distinctive actor and I thought he was excellent in The Stepfather! Finally saw it last night after years of waiting! I wasn't disappointed! I was blown away by his indepth performance!
shareTotally agree. His performance in The Stepfather was a revelation to me too.
shareWhat makes his performance so great is that he is truly scary yet he understands the comedy of the role as well. The part where he says, "It's not a family without children," is priceless.
shareanother thing is he realy can take a one dimensional charcter and make hime 3d seemingly effortlessly
shareTerry O'Quinn is indeed superb as the Stepfather. He gives a thoroughly chilling and persuasive performance as a cunning, devious and deadly madman obsessed with obtaining the perfect American family. The scenes with O'Quinn freaking out and raving to himself in the basement are especially scary and disturbing. O'Quinn works so well in the role because he seems so outwardly bland, unassuming and nonthreatening, convincingly projecting a pleasant veneer of cheery aplomb under which bubbles a very dark and dangerous psychosis.
"Warren Oates died for our sins"
Terry O'Quinn totally makes this film. The look in his eyes when someone doesn't meet his moral code is chilling. In a lesser actor's hands, the delivery would have been over the top, but Terry makes you believe.
I saw this film shortly after it was released, and for years I thought it was unfortunate that the lead actor didn't have more of a career. I'm glad he's finally found fame on "Lost." He's earned it.
Terry O'Quinn was absolutely superb as Jerry, one of my favourite movie psychopaths of all time. He chills you to the bone because he is simply so believable. This is an Oscar-quality performance and may have been recognized as such were it not for the usual snobby bias against genre films. After all he did win sterling reviews from critics back in 1987. I'm so happy he has finally found the success he has long deserved with his role as Locke on LOST.
shareTerry O'Quinn's performance as Jerry Blake in The Stepfather was indeed worthy of an Oscar nomination. I would go as far as to suggest that it ranks amongst the great performances by any actor in a horror film, on a par with Boris Karloff's stunning turn in The Body Snatcher (1945) and Anthony Hopkins chilling Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs (1990). It is a shame that many such performances are ignored by critics and award-givers by virtue of the fact that they are in a genre that most deem unworthy and undeserving of their attention, (Hopkins' nod, of course, being a major exception).
shareits good becuase he is a total good guy on Lost then he is a psycho in this he has range he was good in Young Guns, Primal Fear and Tombstone as well
It ain't so easy to shoot a man, especially if the son-of-a-bitch is shootin' back at you.
You know, Locke is my favourite character on Lost and I absolutely adore the character, but I am not so sure that he's a "total good guy"...
better sorry than safe
Yeah, I'd agree with that. Far from easily being labeled 'good guy' on Lost.
And, even though most people see Terry O'Quinn and think "John Locke", I still think of "The Stepfather" first and Lost second.
------
Wait a minute... who am I here?
[deleted]
Where are you from?
share[deleted]
Haha, I know. He is a fantastic actor and it was known by the Lost people so they snatched him up. I'm glad he made it big, but getting this post puts me in the mood to see Stepfather again!
shareWaaaaait a minute, who am I here?!
Titus Androgenicus
'Next time Jim, call before you come over!'
"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."
- Great scene.
And Jim tracks Blake throughout the entire film... just to get killed right when he finally locates the guy. Damn. Reminded me a lot of when Scatman Crothers was killed in The Shining.
------
Wait a minute... who am I here?