"The Stepfather" - not who he appears to be, but isn't it obvious?

The Stepfather is a remake of the 1987 horror film of the same name. Susan Harding (Sela Ward, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, House) is a divorced mother of three: Michael Harding (Penn Badgley, Gossip Girl), his younger brother Sean Harding (Braeden Lemasters, Ghost Whisperer), and their younger sister Beth Harding (Skyler Samuels). She has just met a man who supposedly goes by the name of David Harris (Dylan Walsh, Nip/Tuck) whom she is planning to marry. However, Michael, as well as his blood-father Jay Harding (Jon Tenney, The Closer) are very suspicious of "David", believing him to be Grady Edwards, a serial killer that they've seen on America's Most Wanted. In a subplot, Michael's girlfriend Kelly (Amber Heard) is trying to help Michael get into college, but he keeps putting it off for the investigation, which she does not believe in.

Other stars in the film include Nancy Linehan Charles as Mrs. Cutter, the elderly neighbor, Paige Turco (Guiding Light, All My Children, Big Shots, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II and III) as Jackie Kerns, Susan's sister, and her lesbian lover Leah (Sherry Stringfield, ER, Shark).

Let's face it - the only reason I saw this film was to laugh at it. I've never seen the original version, but the trailer simply made this film look like a joke - and that's what it was. It's really obvious who David Harris is, given the ominous music that plays around him every time he appears on screen. There really isn't much more to it than that.

The film got a well-deserved PG-13 rating. When Sean is playing his video game with the volume up high, his mother tells him to turn it down. "David" grabs him by the neck and says, "She said turn it down!" in a menacing voice. "David" pushes Mrs. Cutter down the stairs and closes her nose and mouth to suffocate her to death. I won't describe the end sequence in too much detail, but I'll bring up these highlights: During a chase, "David" crashes through a bathroom door where Susan is hiding, shattering the mirror, then Susan grabs a shard of glass and stabs "David" (there is some blood on him, and some coming out of Susan's hand, but not too much). Michael kicks "David" down the steps to the attic, Kelly attempts to use a buzz-saw on "David" but falls through the fragile floorboards (no one is hurt by the buzz-saw, but they are both knocked out). "David" punches Kelly in the face, and there is a bit of blood on her face. I will only describe the very last violent scene in private. Many scenes with the dinner table have some alcoholic beverages at them, and "David" shares a tequila with Michael (nothing intoxicating happens). There is also talk about drunk victims who were killed. I could only count one f-word and one s-word. Last of all, for sexual content... Kelly wears a bikini in nearly every scene except the end sequence (except two scenes where she wears a tanktop). She also tells Michael that she is "screwing" someone else (to get his attention).

I won't spoil the film for the three people who can't figure it out, but if you just want to sit back and laugh at a film, this is your film. Just don't expect anything good from it.