12. David Harris (Dylan Walsh) - The Stepfather (2009)
David Harris might be based on Jerry Blake, the character played by Terry OQuinn in Joseph Rubens original The Stepfather (1987), but its hard to tell. In this PG-13 reboot, he comes across more like the T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day pure evil and so indestructible he must be made from liquid metal. When our hero finally confronts David on a rooftop, during a thunderstorm, while Hitchcock knock-off music plays its a reminder of how low-key the original was. Gerry Blake was stabbed and shot and.died. He didnt get up and walk away after being stabbed in the neck, thrown through a wall, tossed off a roof and sent crashing through a greenhouse. He died. He ceased to be. He was bleeding demised. He was an ex-stepfather (until resurrected for the sequel, anyway). Like every other adult in this potboiler, hes a one-dimensional clown capable of being outwitted by a teenager. Moreover, David only has two facial expressions - a fake smile that somehow fools everybody, and a sour snarl that means Duck And Cover so its not really surprising that he becomes a supporting character in his own movie.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
