The Stepfather appears in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a fairly good but unexceptional presentation.
For the most part, sharpness felt appealing. Some softness crept in at times, and the film rarely seemed razor sharp, but it nonetheless offered generally positive delineation.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects appeared, and I saw no edge haloes. Light grain showed up, and I witnessed no source flaws.
Stepfather opted for a heavily teal palette, with some amber tossed in as well. The colors could seem somewhat overdone but they worked fine for the production’s goals.
Blacks seemed reasonably deep and dense, while shadows felt largely appropriate. While I never found this to become an impressive image, it seemed satisfactory.
Similar thoughts greeted the movie’s decent DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack. It offered a fairly engaging affair but it never excelled.
This meant a mix that leaned heavy toward creepy ambience and not a lot more. Occasional violent scenes broadened horizons somewhat, and the soundfield seemed suitable for this story, and a thunderstorm added some dimensionality, but the mix failed to create a particularly active piece.
Audio quality worked fine, with speech that seemed natural and concise. Music appeared warm and full.
Effects came across as accurate and dynamic, and they lacked distortion. Expect a perfectly adequate soundtrack.
As we shift to extras, we begin with an audio commentary from director Nelson McCormick and actors Penn Badgley and Dylan Walsh. All three sit together for this running, screen-specific look at the original film and its adaptation, story and characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, editing, stunts, and related domains.
Though not a bad track, this becomes a pretty mediocre discussion. We get a decent overview of the movie but the commentary never feels especially compelling.
Two featurettes follow, and Open House runs 20 minutes, 12 seconds. It brings notes McCormick, Badgley, Walsh, producers Mark Morgan and Greg Mooradian, production designer Steven Jordan, and actors Sela Ward, Amber Heard, and Jon Tenney
“House” covers the original film and its adaptation, cast and performances, sets and locations, photography and audio, McCormick’s impact on the production, and general thoughts. Though the piece leans too much toward praise, it nonetheless becomes a decent mix of notes and behind the scenes footage.
Visualizing the Stunts spans 11 minutes, 35 seconds and features McCormick, Tenney, Walsh and stunt coordinator/2nd unit director Mike Smith.
Unsurprisingly, this one examines the movie’s stunts and action. We get a pretty good view of the topic.
A Gag Reel goes for four minutes, 52 seconds and brings a lot of the usual goofs and silliness. Walsh offers some amusing improv lines but most of the compilation seems ordinary.
The disc opens with ads for Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day and Armored. Previews adds promos for Soul Power, 2012, Zombieland, Breaking Bad, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, Prom Night (2008), The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Universal Soldier: Regeneration and The Damned United.
We also get the trailer for Stepfather as well as six TV spots.
If you want a suspenseful and dramatic thriller, look somewhere other than The Stepfather. Cheesy and heavy-handed, the movie lacks even basic intrigue or impact. The Blu-ray comes with generally positive picture and audio as well as a mix of bonus materials. Though the 1987 version didn’t excel, it worked way better than this misbegotten remake.