The Stepfather
User Score
5.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 32 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 32
  3. Negative: 7 out of 32

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  1. Dollis
    Nov 27, 2012
    0
    The worst remake movies i seen is The Stepfather (2009). and Psycho (1998). Planet of the Apes (2001). The Wicker Man (2006). Red Dawn (2012) , And wait for more bad remakes movies Carrie 2013 and . Robocop 2013.
  2. Seanismyname
    Nov 1, 2009
    3
    RULES for 21st CENTURY CINEMA: Any movie that relies on "Low Battery" displays on a cellular phone to create tension just shouldn't be made. This film takes a pedantic approach to suspense and offers nothing new. Nice production values. Dylan Walsh is disturbingly hot.
  3. ChadS.
    Oct 18, 2009
    3
    Five years after "The Stepfather" was released, Vice President Dan Quayle delivered a speech that codified the term "family values" as a demagogic catchphrase for self-righteous conservatives, in which the spelling-challenged former senator from the Hoosier State, famously criticized a television character's choice to raise a child on her own. While this remake of the Joseph Ruben original is too diffuse, too preoccupied with its teen-centric focus on young love, the satirical possibilities of a man with with a double life who hypocritically promotes the two-parent household, is still there, albeit such ideological strands are never properly developed. Susan Harding(the transcending beauty Sela Ward), a recent divorcee and mother of two, has lesbian friends, a couple played by, incidentally enough, television stalwarts Sherry Stringfield("ER") and Paige Turico("NYPD Blue"). Since David Harris(Dylan Harris), a traditionalist with high moral standards, clearly disapproves of pre-marital sex(the stepfather keeps an eagle-eye on Michael and his girlfriend), the moviegoer would be inclined to think that Susan's friends are sinners in his book, as well. In order to bypass any overt, or even subtle political(and more importantly, religious) undertones, it's never made clear as to how David feels about their "alternative lifestyle". [***SPOILER ALERT***] On the surface, David has to murder one of the lesbians because she knows too much, but in a film conspicuously absent of religion, a baptismal subtext persists itself on the, otherwise, apolitical(and secularized) diegesis, as the woman is drowned by the morally superior father, in a swimming pool. It looks like he's "saving" her.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
33 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 11
  3. Negative: 3 out of 11
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    30
    This remake turns a fondly remembered horror/thriller into a mild and tedious suspense film.
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  2. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    0
    Walsh is just a dumb bully who can’t see more than one or two steps ahead. He’s doomed to generic slasher villainy, and the film thoughtlessly obliges.
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  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    50
    The trouble with the movie, apart from its rather monotonous dourness of tone, is that everyone in the family, especially the reformed-delinquent high school son (Penn Badgley), comes off as tougher, smarter, and quicker on the draw than the stepfather who's supposed to be outfoxing them.
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