10 Most Horrifying Urban Nightmare Movies

‘Stranger danger’ is something that is burned into us from childhood. The idea that someone you meet will want to hurt you in a very personal way is a terrifying prospect that is proven all too real with incidents occurring each and every day. The Stepfather is a 1986 film that portrays this idea at it illogical extreme.

The Stepfather is a film about a serial killer who marries into different families with the hopes of finding his ‘perfect’ family. Whilst usually shoved into the ‘slasher’ genre of movies, there’s a lot more going on in this film than the typical slasher fare. The villainous Jerry Blake, played by Terry O’Quinn, is a terrifying portrayal of a nice guy with a nasty nature. When he wears his ‘mask’ of decency, he’s a heartwarmingly perfect portrayal of the supportive stepfather. However, when the mask comes off O’Quinn is able to demonstrate a scary degree of psychopathy that’s terrifying to witness. The juxtaposition in those moments where the psychopath shines through are genuinely unnerving to witness. Its a mirror of the terrifying prospect that those you think loves you will hurt you without remorse.

The Stepfather was remade in 2009, but the film just isn’t the same without O’Quinn’s fantastic performance. He was so terrifying that his co-stars suffered nightmares of him after the production was finished, and that fear definitely translates onscreen during the climatic scenes.