History Film / TheStepfather

* BigWordShout: Christine does this to Keith when saving Andy in the climax before Keith is killed in the woodchipper.

-->'''Christine:''' ''(to Keith as she saves Andy)'' Let go of my son! Let go! '''LET''' '''''GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!'''''
* BloodierAndGorier: Much more emphasis is put on the kills, the highlights being the shovel, rake and woodchipper deaths.

-->'''Christine:''' ''(to Keith as she saves Andy)'' Let go of my son! Let go! '''LET GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!'''

* DropTheHammer: The stepfather contemplates killing his family with one.

* DropTheHammer: Todd Grayland takes the stepfather out with one, stabbing him in the chest with the claw end.

* DropTheHammer: Annoyed with his wife, the stepfather moves in to bash her brains with one, but is stopped by the last minute by two potential witnesses.

* OverprotectiveDad: When the stepfather sees his stepdaughter Stephanie kissing a boy named Paul he completely freaks out, claiming Paul was going to try and rape Stephanie.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: Aside from killing those who acts as competition (like Phil in the second film), or do not fit with his values like the families he butchered, or simply just get in the way, the stepfather also kill those who suspects him of being not what he initially appeared to be to tie up loose ends, such as Dr. A. Bondurant and James "Jim" Ogilvie in the first film. Susan in the first film, aside from being targeted for not living up to the stepfather's standards, nearly got offed early when she suspects something's wrong when she discovered the stepfather quit his job several days ago without informing her and witnessed the stepfather mixed up his identities. The protagonists of films finds themselves in this predicament as well once they discovered what the stepfather's truly is.
* IHaveManyNames: There is no way of telling what The Stepfather's real name is, or which one of them he believes it to be.

* ScarsAreForever: But its pretty easy to lie about how you got them.

[[/folder]]

* AnAxeToGrind: The stepfather comes close to killing his current family with one, but relents at the last minute.

** A pretty random one near the end involving Jill Schoelen, whose character ''wasn't'' a MsFanservice up until then, and in fact, was established as being only 16.

* KnifeNut: The stepfather has used a lot of different objects to kill people, but the knife is still his preferred weapon.

The film was followed by two sequels, the first [[DirectToVideo direct-to-video]] and the second [[MadeForTVMovie made for television]] and [[TheOtherDarrin replacing O'Quinn with Robert Wightman]]. [[TheRemake A remake]] was released in 2009.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:''The Stepfather'' (2009)]]
* AdaptationalVillainy: The stepfather, who comes across as much more of a cold-blooded sociopath in the remake compared to his predecessor, who was probably insane.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Michael, Kelly, and Susan survive David's wrath, but David gets away and is last seen charming a new family to kill. Plus, what's to say David[=/=]Grady won't tie up loose ends and eventually go after the Hardings?]]
* BloodlessCarnage: Due to its PG-13 status. He kills all his onscreen victims via some form of oxygen deprivation.
* BuryYourGays: Jackie, though the fact that she's a lesbian is only made clear shortly before her death.
* ButNotTooGay: Its only pretty close to the end of the film that we realize Jackie and Leah are lovers, and not just roommates or something.
* CallBack: The film has a lot of references to the original. Surprising, considering it was made by the same people who brought us the ''Film/WhenAStrangerCalls'' and ''[[Film/PromNight2008 Prom Night]]'' remakes, both of which are borderline InNameOnly.
* CatScare: Happens right before Mrs. Cutters's death.
* HereWeGoAgain: [[spoiler: David Harris or Grady Edwards-whatever his name is survives being taken out by the Hardings and is seen introducing himself to a new single mother with young boys some time later...]]
* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday: The opening of the film is set sometime around Christmas.
* IdiotBall: Firmly gripped by many characters. ''Especially'' Susan. Let's just say that if Susan had half a braincell, the low kill count of about six or so would be down by ''three''.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Susan, so much so that [[UpToEleven she seems overly obnoxious compared to most other examples on that page]]. Her oldest son is unhappy with the stepfather and her best friend, ex-husband, and even an old lady down the street try to point out the oddities in her new husband's behavior, but she refuses to hear anything bad about the man, always countering the arguments with how good he is to her, how happy he makes her. Its actually quite possible she wasn't really oblivious to the warning signs so much as deluding herself into ignoring them.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Susan's ex-husband Jay may not seem to be the most upstanding guy, but he was absolutely within his right to confront David, albeit violently, upon learning he inappropriately laid his hands on Sean.
* KarmaHoudini:
** The stepfather in the remake. He survives, gets away and is last seen charming another single woman with kids.
** Susan was never called out, or even felt remorse, for ignoring all the warning signs that her fiancé is a serial killer and thus leading to the deaths of a neighbor, her ex-husband, and her sister. The closest thing she ever got was ''almost'' getting killed. Though considering that the word possibly have gotten out that her fiancé is a serial killer and that she was indirectly responsible for the deaths of those three, chances are that she will eventually.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Mrs. Cutter. The Stepfather knocks her down a flight of stairs, and then asphyxiates her in a way (holding her nose and mouth shut while wearing gloves) that leaves no evidence, so investigators are left to assume that she died from the fall.
* NeverTrustATrailer: That awesome swinging buzzsaw scene that was in all the trailers and TV spots? Its ''completely absent'' from the film.
* PoliceAreUseless: Obviously, but what sets them apart from the others is the fact that they couldn't catch a severely injured man crawling away when they were a few feet away.
* SoftGlass: Michael smashes a window with his elbow, but doesn't get cut at all, and the sleeve of his hoodie remains intact, without even a few glass shards to show for it.
* SoundtrackDissonance: "Silent Night" and a more "hardcore" rendition of "Happy Together" appear during less-than-peaceful moments.
* TooDumbToLive: Susan cannot take a hint that her fiancé is a murderer to save her life. Neighbor claiming she saw his face on ''Series/AmericasMostWanted''? Susan passes it off as someone else. Ex-husband saying that Susan's youngest son was ''throttled'' by her fiancé? She briefly scorns him about it and doesn't bring it up again. [[note]][[TruthInTelevision To be fair, it can be hard to believe your ex-husband when he tells you your new beau is a psycho.]][[/note]] Her sister telling Susan that her fiancé left as soon as he had to fill out some employment forms, Susan ''laughs'' it off. You know you have a dumb as shit character when she does not get the message when her fiancé is pointing a knife at her, along with a whole bunch of weapons laid out on the table, saying that she should punish her son more, then ask, "[[ArcWords Who Am I here?]]". [[WhatAnIdiot Mother of the year.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: David while Sean is playing video games with the volume too loud.
[[/folder]]
----

* ShowerScene: A pretty random one near the end involving Jill Schoelen, whose character ''wasn't'' a MsFanservice up until then, and in fact, was established as being only 16.

* DefiniteArticleTitle: ''The Stepfather''

* EveryCarIsAPinto: The stepfather destroys a car, and it explodes spectacularly.

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The stepfather, in the original at least.

* InfantImmortality: Averted in the first few minutes of the film, as a butchered body of a little girl is shown.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Michael, Kelly, and Susan survive David's wrath, but David gets away and is last seen charming a new family to kill. Plus, it wouldn't be out-of-character for David[=/=]Grady to tie up loose ends and go after the Hardings.]]

* TooDumbToLive: Susan cannot take a hint that her fiancé is a murderer to save her life. Neighbor claiming she saw his face on ''Series/AmericasMostWanted''? Susan passes it off as someone else. Ex-husband saying that Susan's youngest son was ''throttled'' by her fiancé? She does not bring it up again. [[note]][[TruthInTelevision To be fair, it can be hard to believe your ex-husband when he tells you your new beau is a psycho.]][[/note]] Her sister telling Susan that her fiancé left as soon as he had to fill out some employment forms, Susan ''laughs'' it off. You know you have a dumb as shit character when she does not get the message when her fiancé is pointing a knife at her, along with a whole bunch of weapons laid out on the table, saying that she should punish her son more, then ask, "[[ArcWords Who Am I here?]]". [[WhatAnIdiot Mother of the year.]]

** Susan was never called out, or even felt remorse, for ignoring all the warning signs that her fiance is a serial killer and thus leading to the deaths of a neighbor, her ex-husband, and her sister. The closest thing she ever got was ''almost'' getting killed. Though considering that the word possibly have gotten out that her fiance is a serial killer and that she was indirectly responsible for the deaths of those three, chances are that she will eventually.

* TooDumbToLive: Susan cannot take a hint that her fiance is a murderer to save her life. Neighbor claiming she saw his face on ''Series/AmericasMostWanted''? Susan passes it off as someone else. Ex-husband saying that Susan's youngest son was ''throttled'' by her fiance? She does not bring it up again. [[note]][[TruthInTelevision To be fair, it can be hard to believe your ex-husband when he tells you your new beau is a psycho.]][[/note]] Her sister telling Susan that her fiance left as soon as he had to fill out some employment forms, Susan ''laughs'' it off. You know you have a dumb as shit character when she does not get the message when her fiance is pointing a knife at her, along with a whole bunch of weapons laid out on the table, saying that she should punish her son more, then ask, "[[ArcWords Who Am I here?]]". [[WhatAnIdiot Mother of the year.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: Stepfather while Sean is playing videogames.

* ArchEnemyDad / WickedStepfather: zigzagged. Sometimes he bonds with the child, sometimes he doesn’t. In all three films it’s the child, not the wife who finishes him off.

* ArchenemyDad / WickedStepfather: zigzagged. Sometimes he bonds with the child, sometimes he doesn’t. In all three films it’s the child, not the wife who finishes him off.

** All of the mothers the stepfather marries in the original trilogy ([[Series/CharliesAngels Shelley Hack]], Creator/MegFoster, and [[Series/ThreesCompany Priscilla Barnes]] respectively) are good-looking and each have a passionate sex scene with him. Granted, the latter can also be FanDisservice since by then it has been made clear that the stepfather is a SerialKiller.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: James "Jim" Ogilvie, who's been treated as a major character in the first film, gets killed off unceremoniously in the climax and treated as another RedShirt on the Stepfather's bodycount following that.