RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / The Stepfather
The Stepfather

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Showtimes & Tickets
  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Stepfather (2009)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
11 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:37

Fresh:4

Rotten:33

Average Rating:3.3/10

Consensus: This tepid remake of the 1987 cult classic lacks the tension and satirical undercurrents of the original.

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: Michael Harding (Penn Badgley) returns home from military school to find his mother (Sela Ward) happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David (Dylan Walsh). As the two men get to know... Michael Harding (Penn Badgley) returns home from military school to find his mother (Sela Ward) happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David (Dylan Walsh). As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there with a helpful hand. Is he really the man of her dreams or could David be hiding a dark side? --© Sony [More]

Starring: Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward, Penn Badgley, Amber Heard

Starring: Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward, Penn Badgley, Amber Heard, Jon Tenney, Sherry Stringfield, Paige Turco

Director: Nelson McCormick

Director: Nelson McCormick
Screenwriter: J.S. Cardone
Story: Carolyn Starin, Brian Garfield, Donald E. Westlake
Producer: Mark Morgan, Greg Mooradian
Composer: Charlie Clouser
Studio: Screen Gems

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Searching the Basement
    >
    Trailer
    >
    Who Am I Here?
    >
    Stepfather and Son
    >
1 - 4 of 4

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for The Stepfather

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Astonishingly dull and carefully scrubbed of all but the most sanitized violence in the name of securing a PG-13 rating.

Full Review Source: Horror Hacker | comment Comment
11/03/09
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
Horror Hacker

Substitutes an Oedipus complex for sexual menace by replacing the teenage daughter heroine of the earlier film with a hunky military school bad boy, then compounds the mistake with a bad pop/rock soundtrack and a silly action climax...

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
10/30/09
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

What is there to be said about this utterly worthless, addle-brained waste of 101 minutes except that it's an utterly worthless, addle-brained waste of 101 minutes?

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
10/25/09
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

a shameless exercise in promoting the lowest common denominator

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
10/24/09
Jason McKiernan
Jason McKiernan
Filmcritic.com

Wait till your father gets home... on DVD.

Full Review Source: Horror.com | comment Comment
10/23/09
Staci Layne Wilson
Staci Layne Wilson
Horror.com

As characters get startled but you don't and you suspenselessly wait for everyone to figure out what we realized long ago (Mr. Harris kills people, then 105 minutes of your life), you may well wonder about the bloody point of it all.

Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) | comment Comment
10/23/09
Brian Gibson
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

The Stepfather is, finally, only as good as its stepfather -- and Dylan Walsh ain’t bad.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
10/22/09
Nick Pinkerton
Nick Pinkerton
L.A. Weekly

If you call a film The Stepfather, then your title character -- in this case, David Harris (Dylan Walsh) -- should have the decency to marry into that perfect little family that he’s predisposed to butcher and kill.

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
10/22/09
Brett Michel
Brett Michel
Boston Phoenix

Ooh, daddy! If you want some old-fashioned cheesy suspense, look no farther than 'The Stepfather.'

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
10/21/09
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Dylan Walsh shines in the title role but the film is only mildly entertaining

Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com | comment Comment
10/20/09
Jackie K. Cooper
Jackie K. Cooper
jackiekcooper.com

That last stormy night of violence should be the shocker. Giving away his ruthlessness in earlier killings robs the movie of it its payoff as it saps the climax of much of its power.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
10/19/09
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

Riddled with implausible situations, including many instances of Creepy Stepdad appearing suddenly in doorways and mirrors, and zero instances of genuine suspense or style.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
10/19/09
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Shallow and inert, "The Stepfather" goes through the motions of a suspense film without ever broaching the horror genre that director Joseph Ruben employed in the original. Talk about "unclear on the concept," this remake doesn't even get the genre right.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
10/18/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

This perfunctory retread had a tame, made-for-TV feel, and not just because the humdrum cast is composed of network and cable B-listers.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
10/18/09
Cliff Doerksen
Cliff Doerksen
Chicago Reader

This remake turns a fondly remembered horror/thriller into a mild and tedious suspense film.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
10/18/09
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Even by horror-remake standards, The Stepfather sets the bar for pointlessness.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
10/18/09
Scott Tobias
Scott Tobias
AV Club

Better to honor history and rent the original.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/18/09
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

The trouble with the movie, apart from its rather monotonous dourness of tone, is that everyone in the family... comes off as tougher, smarter, and quicker on the draw than the stepfather who's supposed to be outfoxing them.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
10/18/09
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

The Stepfather is that rarity, an effective remake of a screen classic that can stand alone on its own considerable merits.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
10/18/09
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A clumsy remake of the 1987 cult thriller.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
10/18/09
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Stepfather

October 15, 2009: Critics Consensus: Where the Wild Things Are Is A Wild Rumpus
This week, we've got a wild rumpus (Where the Wild Things Are, starring Max Records and Catherine Keener), a legal skirmish (Law Abiding Citizen, starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard... More...

October 02, 2009: New: Brand New Trailer and Poster Opens in new window
More...

July 04, 2009: A killer remake! The Stepfather set visit report. Opens in new window
More...

June 28, 2009: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

See All

More Movies

Coming Soon
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date

arrow arrow Show more Show less

— The Descent: Part 2 04/12

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
4
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
9
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
106
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
162
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
53
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
40
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
5
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
6
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
18
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Stepfather at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Stepfather at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.