The Stepfather

THE STEPFATHER (2009) - Oct. 17, 2009
Though I haven't seen the original on which this was based, I have to assume that it was better than this.  About the latest family of a killer who goes from family to family, weaseling his way in and then killing them when they don't meet his standards.  The main problem with this movie was that it just wasn't all that interesting, with long stretches in which not all that much happens.  Once it's established that the eldest son of the family is suspicious of the stepfather, the film essentially just spins its wheels without much of note happening for long stretches of time.  The suspicious son, who is essentially the main character, is super bland, which doesn't help matters.  Nor does the fact that the film is ridiculously watered down, even by the usual tame standards of a PG-13 horror film -- when the bloodiest part in a thriller like this is when the main character cuts himself while shaving, you know you've got problems.  Despite all that, the film featured competent (if somewhat bland) direction from Nelson McCormick, and up to a certain point I was thinking that the movie was pretty bad but not outright terrible.  But then there was the ridiculously anti-climactic finale, which had to have been the worst ending I've ever seen for a movie like this.  It was frustratingly bad. Seriously, what were they thinking?  *