Back in 1987, there was movie that gave a whole new meaning to dysfunctional
family. A single mother and her daughter find the perfect man to be husband and
father. Perfect aside from the fact that he happens to be a serial killer who
murders the families that disappoint him.
The original film was a cool little horror thriller that starred
Terry O’Quinn, before his John Locke days on “Lost”, and the gorgeous horror
heroine Jill Schoelen. It even offered up the ex-“Charlie’s Angel” Shelley Hack
as the put upon mom. Since the film has become a bit of a cult classic, it is no
surprise that a remake is coming your way.
The new Stepfather – Dylan Walsh
Sony Pictures invited JoBlo.com/AITH to come by and talk about the messed up
little family drama and get a sneak peek behind the scenes. And as for the
remake, it offers up Nip/Tuck’s Dylan Walsh as the psychotic would be dad
looking for the perfect family. Reunited for this project is director Nelson
McCormick and screenwriter J.S. Cardone who will soon have another Eighties
remake hitting the theatres with PROM NIGHT. When we spoke to producer Mark
Morgan, he offered that the story is more relevant than ever, “…the divorce rate
is escalating almost near 60%. It’s the fact that there are many women out there
that have children still and haven’t been remarried and yet, sometimes [they
are] able to be… they are almost easy prey… they don’t necessarily check
someone’s background. They’re not really finding out who they are letting into
their house.”
Amber Heard…yum!
And when it comes to horror, he describes this take as more of a HAND THAT ROCKS
THE CRADLE type thriller. “It’s that creepy sort of feeling that you get, that
aren’t necessarily visceral or violent by nature.” With that, it looks as though
they are sticking to a PG-13 as opposed to an R rating. In all fairness, I’m not
a big fan of the PG-13 remakes, but a film like this probably could work well
enough without the R. As for the creepiness to expect, “In the script, he [the
stepfather] is sort of peering, watching, sort of the younger kids, or he’s
watching the girlfriend of Michael in this, which is Amber Heard.”
Okay, you can stop right there, how can you blame a guy for
watching the lovely Amber Heard. And yes, Michael is replacing Stephanie (Schoelen)
as the teenager who distrusts the new father figure. Penn Badgley from “Gossip
Girl” is the troubled teen who seems to have a few conflicts with the new member
of the household. Sela Ward replaces Hack and Ms. Ward has a whole lot on her
resume including a few episodes of “House” and the lead in the fan favorite
television series “Once and Again”. With Walsh, Ward and Badgley, and Jon Tenney
from the series “The Closer”, the film seems to be heavy on television actors
(even Christopher Meloni and Sherry Stringfield are listed in the IMDB credits).
According to Morgan, this is just a coincidence, and all the actors were chosen
because they were the best for their perspective roles.
The original Stepfather.
This time around, the film has expanded with a couple of new children in the
mix, and of course the girlfriend. Whether this will be a terrifying trip down
memory lane or another watered down PG-13 horror flick has yet to be seen. Some
of the things that might excite fans like a possible cameo by O’Quinn doesn’t
seem to be in the cards at this point. He was approached, and seemed to
originally be interested, but as always, the almighty dollar seemed to play a
part in a lack of interest for O’Quinn. Now why not the lovely Mrs. Schoelen is
what I want to know? Damn I love that girl.
But either way, this murderous family man is coming your way.
And from what I saw, looks to be keeping a bit of what made the original the
enjoyable little thriller it was. I also think the current cast seems to be a
wise choice. So keep an eye out for more on THE STEPFATHER, including more on
the set visit and the full interview with Mark Morgan and interviews with Sela
Ward, Dylan Walsh, Penn Bagdley and Amber Heard. We’ll keep you posted.
CHECK THE
TRAILER FOR THE ORIGINAL!
READ THE ARROW’S REVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL STEPFATHER
GET THE ORIGINAL STEPFATHER HERE
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