The Stepfather

I recently viewed the movie The Stepfather, and I have to say it was a disappointment. Dylan Walsh actually at times was quite creepy but the sinister stare that works the first couple of times becomes a tad repetitive on the 3,857th time. The director went to that technique far too often. Amber Heard (Pineapple Express) Is a fantastic young actress who gave a decent performance in this picture however I think the costume designer failed miserably Don’t get me wrong she has a great figure but in almost every scene the girl is in a bikini or panties and I didn’t mind but it seemed like a waist of her abilities. Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl) Has potential to be a terrific young actor but I think he doesn’t really challenge himself enough the great actors always seem to try something new to improve there range and it in some ways felt like he just phoned it in with this performance he was ok but I think if he wants to have a long career post hit TV show he needs to find better material and grow as an actor. The story isn’t a complete failure but it falls into a similar formula which most horror movies suffer from its far to cliché and it doesn’t really have any surprises that shock you. I will say however that the chase sequence was actually really good it’s a shame there were not more action sequences like this one throughout the movie and there is a moment when I actually was startled which does not happen to me often when I watch a scary movie. If your in a mood for this kind of movie you could possibly enjoy this but I think this film is far too uneven to recommend Heard, and Walsh gave good performances but the script was weak and the director was lazy with elements throughout the film.

2 out of 5 stars

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