10 Best Horror Movies With No Supernatural Elements
8. The Stepfather
This delightfully lurid ‘80s cult hit stars Terry O'Quinn in a rare big screen leading role. If you only know the man from Lost or Patriot, he’s a revelation here, his kindly face belying an inner evil.
His character is a murderous human magpie, a drifter who inserts himself into families, kills the lot of them, and flies the nest for his next victim. O’Quinn couldn’t be better cast in the role; even as a younger actor he feels so fatherly, trustworthy and wise - right up until the killing starts.
The Stepfather is a cat and mouse story with thrilling pacing. Within minutes, we understand the killer’s MO. He slaughters, disappears, emerges. Only this time, he may have met his match in 16-year-old Stephanie, his new stepdaughter, who knows only too well that something isn’t right.
The film is so efficient in setting everything up that there’s abundant time in which to turn the screw. The Stepfather delivers taught horror and grizzly gore in equal measure.