Back in April, JoBlo’s own Kier Gomes – who hosts the JoBlo Originals Live Stream, Friday Night Flicks, on our JoBlo Originals channel – put together an episode of the Deconstructing series that took a look at the 1987 classic The Stepfather. A couple of months ago, we shared the news that Kier also contributed an audio commentary to the new 4K and Blu-ray release of The Stepfather from Scream Factory – and today happens to be the release date for that 4K and Blu-ray! Copies are available at THIS LINK.
Directed by Joseph Ruben from a screenplay by popular crime novelist Donald E. Westlake (who crafted the story with
Carolyn Lefcourt and Death Wish author Brian Garfield), The Stepfather has the following synopsis: Jerry Blake is a family man, but he happens to have a series of families, with each one on the receiving end of his murderous ways. When Jerry sets his sights on a lovely widow named Susan and her headstrong daughter, Stephanie, it appears that his brutal pattern of killings will continue. However, Stephanie begins to suspect that there’s something wrong with the seemingly well-adjusted Jerry, and a violent confrontation is inevitable.
The film stars Terry O’Quinn, Shelley Hack, Jill Schoelen, Charles Lanyer, Stephen Shellen, Stephen E. Miller, Robyn Stevan, and Jeff Schultz.
Scream Factory’s new 4K and Blu-ray release of The Stepfather has the following bonus features:
DISC ONE (4K UHD):
NEW 2024 4K Restoration
Presented In Dolby Vision
Audio Commentary With Director Joseph Ruben
NEW Audio Commentary With Actor Jill Schoelen And Filmmaker Jackson Stewart
NEW Audio Commentary With Film Critic Meagan Navarro
NEW Audio Commentary With Film Critic Kier Gomes
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):
NEW 2024 4K Restoration
Audio Commentary With Director Joseph Ruben
NEW Audio Commentary With Actor Jill Schoelen And Filmmaker Jackson Stewart
NEW Audio Commentary With Film Critic Meagan Navarro
NEW Audio Commentary With Film Critic Kier Gomes
NEW “Phantom Of The Family” – An Interview With Actor Jill Schoelen
“The Stepfather Chronicles” – A Retrospective Featuring Interviews With Director Joseph Ruben, Producer Jay Benson, Actress Jill Schoelen, Author Brian Garfield And Others On The Making Of The Film And Its Enduring Legacy
Trailers For All 3 Films
Still Gallery
Kier had this to say about getting involved with Scream Factory’s new release of The Stepfather: “The Stepfather (1987) is one of those films that gave me the creeps as a young child and has remained one of my staple rewatches every autumn when Halloween rolls around. It’s a movie that I’ve not only seen, but studied as an aspiring filmmaker my entire life. As a fan, I spent weeks working on a video essay for our JoBlo Horror Originals channel that would deconstruct what works so well about the film and its cult legacy among horror fans. The video was meant to be a love letter to the cast and crew who made it, but turned into something even better. About a month or two after posting the video, a member of Shout Factory’s development team contacted our company and asked if I was interested in helping to create some of the bonus material for the 4K Blu-Ray release. Now, as a physical media lover AND a fan of the film- the answer was an instant yes.
When getting in contact with Shout, my contact with the company was incredibly excited about adding some additional content to the special features. I was half expecting them to ask me for a quote and that would be that, so you can imagine how excited I was to find out that Shout was sending me a 4K screener of the movie and requesting a full 90-minute audio commentary to pair with the film. So, I spent a few days doing even more research and really fleshing out my love and knowledge of the film and when the time came I sat down, watched the best looking version of the film I’ve ever seen, and spent the duration of the film talking about all things The Stepfather. As a kid I enjoyed director’s commentary tracks on the special features of my favorite films, and now I get to be ONE of the talented people to provide viewers with one of my very own. I’m truly excited and a bit nervous for my work to be heard by so many people, but I could not be more proud of this project and my involvement in it.“
Schoelen kindly mentioned Kier’s involvement while promoting the release on social media yesterday:
Are you a fan of The Stepfather, and will you be buying a copy of this 4K and Blu-ray release from Scream Factory? Will you be listening to Kier’s commentary? Let us know by leaving a comment below.