Stepfather III

The Stepfather trilogy comes to a close with this hopelessly anti-climactic (and downright needless) entry, in which the title character (Robert Wightman’s Keith Grant) undergoes facial reconstruction surgery before heading off to yet another idyllic suburban community to worm his way into the life of a single mother (Priscilla Barnes’ Christine) and her young son (David Tom’s Andy). It’s clear virtually from the opening frames that Stepfather III is a far more low-rent endeavor than either of its two forebears, with Terry O’Quinn’s absence in the central role ultimately the least of the movie’s problems – as Wightman offers up a relatively decent impression of his admittedly superior predecessor. It’s instead the almost aggressively familiar storyline that seals the film’s downfall, as screenwriters Guy Magar and Marc B. Ray’s ongoing refusal to deviate from the series’ well-established template results in a pervasively stale atmosphere that’s nothing short of oppressive. There’s consequently little doubt that Stepfather III boasts few attributes designed to capture (and sustain) the viewer’s interest, with the inclusion of a few appreciatively brutal kill sequences effectively preventing the movie from becoming a complete waste of time (ie it’s impossible to go wrong with a wood chipper-related death). The finality of the movie’s conclusion is admirable, admittedly (ie the stepfather is certainly not recovering from that), yet it’s impossible to label Stepfather III as anything more than an ill-conceived capper to a consistently underwhelming franchise.

* out of ****