STEPFATHER III

Priscilla Barnes and Robert Wightman

STEPFATHER III (1992 made for cable movie). Director: Guy Magar.

The psychotic stepdaddy from Stepfather and Stepfather II escapes yet again from an asylum (this is not shown) and has a discredited plastic surgeon give him a new face (after which he dispatches him, of course). Now known as Keith Grant (Robert Wightman), the psycho again manages to get a very nice house in a wonderful neighborhood. (One also has to wonder where he got the money to pay the surgeon.) As usual, he sets his sights on a divorcee, Christine (Priscilla Barnes), with a young son (David Tom) in a wheelchair. The boy suspects that there's something "off" about Keith and teams up with a reluctant priest (John Ingle), to find out all he can about him.

David Tom and Robert Wightman

When the son goes off to stay with his father and attend a special computer school, Keith sees his dreams of a perfect family falling apart, and zeroes in on a widow, Jennifer (Season Hubley), who also has a young son. It's fun in a sick sense watching Keith juggle both women who could run into each other at any moment and finally do, leading to an exciting climax wherein both ladies are imperiled and the allegedly crippled boy comes to the rescue. It could be argued that Stepfather III is just another dip in the well, but there are enough variations and enough suspenseful situations to make this work. Wightman is fine as a kind of demented overgrown boy scout and the others in the cast play with veracity, especially young Tom. 

Verdict: Could give stepfathers a bad name! ***.