A great horror film with an interesting and original premise!
Jerry Blake (Terry O'Quinn) is the perfect family man. He's all about the traditional working class "married with children" kind of life. That is, until someone in his family angers him or is basically anything less than perfect. That's when he murders them all, changes his identity, and finds a new family. He's been doing this for quite some time and has gone by many different aliases over the years. His current family consists of his wife Susan (Shelley Hack) and his stepdaughter Stephanie (Jill Schoelen). Everything seems to be going well until Stephanie starts dating, then Jerry decides that it's time to take out the knife and dish out his own form of brutal punishment. Then he can simply find another family under a new identity. Unfortunately for the homicidal stepfather, his former brother-in-law Jim Ogilvie (Stephen Shellen) is hot on his trail. Jim seeks revenge against Jerry for killing his sister, and has just bought a gun ready to dish out some punishment of his own!I've always been a huge fan of this great horror film and appreciate its interesting and original premise. How can you not be intrigued by a brilliant but psychotic man who longs for the perfect family and is willing to try again and again until he gets it right? He doesn't just leave them when things go wrong, he kills them. Terry O'Quinn excels in his performance as the maniacal family man and gives a new meaning to the term "home sweet home". Jerry Blake is one of my favorite horror villains in film history and he probably would not have worked with a lesser actor. Jill Schoelen as Stephanie is a great lead character and, although I was somewhat rooting for the stepfather, I really felt for her and wanted her to come out alive at the end. The vengeful former brother-in-law subplot also had me glued to the screen, as it provided a lot of background to the stepfather character. This movie was followed by two sequels. O'Quinn returned for part 2, which was pretty good although it was basically just a rehash which brought nothing new to the table. Part 3 featured a different actor in the stepfather role, which just didn't work for me at all. I would recommend this movie for anyone who appreciates intricate and engaging horror thrillers.
score 10/10
Horror_Metal 4 October 2013
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2880946/35128
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