The Stepfather (2009 film)

The Stepfather is a 2009 American horror thriller film and a remake of the 1987 thriller film of the same name. The film was directed by Nelson McCormick and stars Penn Badgley, Dylan Walsh and Sela Ward. The original was directed by Joseph Ruben and shot from a script by Donald Westlake. The films are loosely based on the crimes of John List.

Plot

The film opens as Grady Edwards (Dylan Walsh) transforms himself in a bathroom. He shaves off his beard, dyes his hair, and removes his brown contact lenses. He goes downstairs with his luggage and fixes himself peanut butter toast and coffee. As he leaves the house, the camera reveals the bodies of his wife and her three children.

Susan Harding (Sela Ward) is shopping in a grocery store with her youngest children where she meets Grady, who introduces himself as David Harris, a man who lost his wife and daughter in a car accident. He charms her, and six months later, they are engaged to be married. Susan's eldest son, Michael (Penn Badgley) returns home from military school and is wary of the situation. David invites him down to the basement, where he has installed locked cabinets, and tries to befriend Michael over tequila shots.