10 Best Suburban Horror Movies Of The Last Decade

The key to The Stepfather's lasting impression as a superb suburban horror film, is the terrifyingly relatable subject matter of the film's premise.

The cliche is obviously that all step-children are predisposed to hate their step-parents. However, it's likely that said step-children would hate their presumptive parent a lot more if they realized that they were a sociopathic murderer, and this is exactly what happens in the 1987 classic.

Terry O'Quinn's Joseph Blake is a new wife to Susan and stepfather to young Stephanie, fresh off brutally murdering his previous family, with a plan to enact the same procedure on his new one. However, his unhinged plot has a spanner thrown in the works as he unintentionally develops a relationship with his would be victim and stepdaughter.

Don't worry though, Joseph ultimately fails to resist his urges and proceeds to attempt to murder his new family. The unhinged subject matter provides an absolutely nail-biting film experience, underlined by a stunningly dark performance by O'Quinn, who provides a superb window into an utterly disturbed individual.

Ultimately The Stepfather is a truly great horror film as it depicts realistic, human oriented events while providing an unflinching depiction of such a terrifying story. The fact that it hits so close to home for many viewers only serves to increase the last impression the film leaves.