Stepfather II.

Review #1104: Stepfather II.

Cast: 
Terry O'Quinn (Jerry Blake/Gene F. Clifford/The Stepfather), Meg Foster (Carol Grayland), Caroline Williams (Matty Crimmins), Jonathan Brandis (Todd Grayland), Henry Brown (Dr. Joseph Danvers), Mitchell Laurance (Phil Grayland), and Miriam Byrd-Nethery (Sally Jenkins) Directed by Jeff Burr.

Review: 
It is evident from the get go that this film (also known as Stepfather 2: Make Room for Daddy - no that is not a joke) is a step down from the original, with its leap in logic and minimal instances of suspense, with its one saving grace being O'Quinn once again. It isn't much of a horror film, but it will prove to be a time-waster at 93 minutes if you like that sort of thing. The original intent was to release this as a direct-to-video sequel (with a budget of $1.5 million and a shooting schedule of roughly four months), but the producers were impressed by the result enough to have it be released into theaters. In any case, there aren't too many moments of actual scares or slasher elements that you wouldn't have already seen in the first film. If you enjoyed the original, you will be pretty disappointed to see how there isn't much to the story this time around, whether in its setup or even to its main character, especially the first sequence involving the mental ward (after showing the last scene from the other film). How much guff can you give for something that was made as a cash-grab? O'Quinn proves to have the best performance once again, having a fine degree of range in showing the nature of this character in kind moments and intense times, with a few moments of amusing moments such as when he drives the car around in a junkyard while smiling. Foster (and her striking blue eyes) proves to be a mild counter-lead to O'Quinn, for better or worse, not being too particularly interesting (although that isn't much of a difference from the lead in the other film). The other members are mild stand-ins, but they do their job just fine. The death sequences and the climax feel a bit routine at times but also feel inconsistent in being effective. You may be wondering about the blood shots in certain scenes, which look a bit awkwardly placed. This is a result of fake blood being added in later in re-shoots due to studio executive complaints about the lack of blood, although O'Quinn was not involved in these shots. Ultimately, this is a bland sequel that proves to be a drag in terms of expectations for horror, disappointing people wanting something more from the first one while also disappointing anyone wanting more than just mild moments of excitement - whether to mock or not.

Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 stars.