Cautionary Step Tales and Steps in Peril - Wicked Witches and Serial Killers
In the course of my research on the portrayal of stepparents and blended families in fiction, I have noticed that when stepmothers and stepfathers are villains, they have distinct personality traits that frequently show up in films and TV.
Evil stepmothers are usually wicked witches, seductive mistresses or vain socialites in films, but evil stepfathers are usually portrayed as serial killers, domestic abusers or sexual predators. In both cases, the horror of the bad stepparent is underscored by their lack of a biological bond with their stepchildren.
When you see a bad stepmother or stepfather in horror or thrillers, they are often portrayed as villains or victims. If they are victims, the viewer will cheer when these characters meet their demise.
According to the Seven Deadly Sins, bad stepparents usually have a combination of the following vices, and I will rank them according to which ones appear first:
Bad Stepmothers
Pride
Envy
Lust
Greed
Wrath
Bad Stepfathers
Wrath
Lust
Pride
Envy
Sloth
Gluttony
Greed
For obvious reasons, I'm not going to list every bad stepmother from the old fairy tales like Snow White and Cinderella, that list is more than ten miles long. Here we are primarily exploring examples of more modern titles that are not derived from preexisting folklore.
I also won't spend too much time on divorced parents that get back together after the disposable fiancé/new partner is gone. We already have too many of these stories that suggest divorce has a reset button. Some couples cannot get back together after surviving a crisis. (I'm looking at San Andreas, 2012, and Moonfall by the way).
Wicked Stepmother - witch
The Parent Trap - prima donna
It Takes Two - gold digger
Nanny McPhee - prima donna
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie - prima donna
Dolls - prima donna
Thanksgiving - prima donna
Some of the titles listed above feature kids attempting to break up their father's wedding and prevent him from marrying the wrong bride and help him choose the good bride instead. So, we get a contrast between the two female love interests of the guy. If they are not putting curses on their stepchildren, the wicked future stepmother usually wants to keep her man and his money to herself while sending the kids off to boarding school. The bottom line is that it's alright for the father to get remarried just as long as he chooses a woman that fits right with him and his children.
The Stepfather - serial killer
Domestic Disturbance - serial killer
Burning Bright - domestic abuser
Critters 3 - jerk
Piranha 3DD - jerk
Pan's Labyrinth - abusive husband
Big Bad Wolf - werewolf
With wicked stepfathers and mom's new boyfriend, they usually get drawn to a family for money or an attractive woman. They are usually domineering, indifferent and they always want to control everyone in the family. They will often attack at the first sign of resistance and if they can't control the family, some would rather let them die. Bonus points if this character is a serial cheater or a pedophile. In some movies there is a plot twist revealing a sinister secret about mom's new boyfriend (in The Lost Boys, he is a vampire and in the Child's Play remake, he is an adulterer). After this revelation, this character usually dies.
A couple of movie remakes like Body Snatchers (1993) and The Amityville Horror (2005) feature good stepparents that get forced into a villainous role because of malevolent forces. The stepmother in Body Snatchers gets an alien clone while the stepfather in The Amityville Horror gets possessed by demons. In both cases, these figures become a threat to their family, and they need to be defeated.
In two other cases, we have movies like The Craft and Dolls that feature a good stepparent that survives and a bad stepparent that dies.
In The Craft, Sarah's stepmother is out of focus, but we can infer that they have a positive relationship, and Sarah cares about her as well as her dad. In contrast, Nancy has an abusive stepfather, and he dies from a heart attack.
In Dolls, Judy's wicked stepmother and negligent father get their comeuppance at the hands of the titular villains. But Judy survives along with another friend Ralph, and he takes on a protective fatherly role to her. When they leave the haunted mansion, the ending implies that Ralph will get together with Judy's mother.
But there are also many horror stories that feature good stepparents that protect their families and survive the dangers facing them in the plot.
Examples of heroic stepmothers or dad's girlfriend in horror:
Fear - stepdaughter's abusive boyfriend
Unforgettable - jealous ex-wife
Damsel - dragon
Imaginary - demon
Daddy's Head - demon
Mother's Boys - jealous ex-wife
Examples of heroic stepfathers or mom's boyfriend in action/disaster movies
Independence Day - alien invasion
Dante's Peak - volcano
Poseidon - capsized ship
The Meg - prehistoric killer shark
Kindergarten Cop - mobsters
Pixels - alien invasion
It is interesting to consider the different characteristics of stepmoms and stepdads in the lists mentioned above.
When the main character meets a single parent with kids, the biological parent may be gone for different reasons: the biological mother is usually dead while the biological father has left the family. Both types of stepparents must earn their place in the family. The new stepmom must then help the family heal from the loss and lead them forward in life while the new stepdad must prove his worth and dedication to make up for the previous father's departure. When there is a problem, these characters must work together to overcome different challenges so that they can achieve a happy ending.
Heroism manifests differently for the new stepmom and the stepdad in these plots.
The stepmom is more likely to face interpersonal conflict, a smaller-scale disaster that only affects her and her family, especially when the enemy is a jealous former lover. She must gain trust from the children while facing an enemy that is trying to destroy their bond as well as their lives.
When the stepdad is facing danger, the catastrophe is usually on a larger scale, a force of nature that affects everyone in the world. He must then protect and guide the single mom and her children to safety and if possible, help rescue other people in peril. The stepdad earns his place when the family survives at the end of the crisis. His power comes from his physical strength and intellectual capabilities. The force of nature does not challenge the characters' bonds as much as it challenges their existence.
It is interesting to consider how the characteristics of stepparents manifests differently based on their gender in film. Future writers should take note of these patterns and think about new ways to portray blended families in different situations. I hope you enjoyed my exploration of stepparents in horror and thrillers. If you have other ideas, share them in the comments.
Evil stepmothers are usually wicked witches, seductive mistresses or vain socialites in films, but evil stepfathers are usually portrayed as serial killers, domestic abusers or sexual predators. In both cases, the horror of the bad stepparent is underscored by their lack of a biological bond with their stepchildren.
When you see a bad stepmother or stepfather in horror or thrillers, they are often portrayed as villains or victims. If they are victims, the viewer will cheer when these characters meet their demise.
According to the Seven Deadly Sins, bad stepparents usually have a combination of the following vices, and I will rank them according to which ones appear first:
Bad Stepmothers
Pride
Envy
Lust
Greed
Wrath
Bad Stepfathers
Wrath
Lust
Pride
Envy
Sloth
Gluttony
Greed
For obvious reasons, I'm not going to list every bad stepmother from the old fairy tales like Snow White and Cinderella, that list is more than ten miles long. Here we are primarily exploring examples of more modern titles that are not derived from preexisting folklore.
I also won't spend too much time on divorced parents that get back together after the disposable fiancé/new partner is gone. We already have too many of these stories that suggest divorce has a reset button. Some couples cannot get back together after surviving a crisis. (I'm looking at San Andreas, 2012, and Moonfall by the way).
Wicked Stepmother - witch
The Parent Trap - prima donna
It Takes Two - gold digger
Nanny McPhee - prima donna
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie - prima donna
Dolls - prima donna
Thanksgiving - prima donna
Some of the titles listed above feature kids attempting to break up their father's wedding and prevent him from marrying the wrong bride and help him choose the good bride instead. So, we get a contrast between the two female love interests of the guy. If they are not putting curses on their stepchildren, the wicked future stepmother usually wants to keep her man and his money to herself while sending the kids off to boarding school. The bottom line is that it's alright for the father to get remarried just as long as he chooses a woman that fits right with him and his children.
The Stepfather - serial killer
Domestic Disturbance - serial killer
Burning Bright - domestic abuser
Critters 3 - jerk
Piranha 3DD - jerk
Pan's Labyrinth - abusive husband
Big Bad Wolf - werewolf
With wicked stepfathers and mom's new boyfriend, they usually get drawn to a family for money or an attractive woman. They are usually domineering, indifferent and they always want to control everyone in the family. They will often attack at the first sign of resistance and if they can't control the family, some would rather let them die. Bonus points if this character is a serial cheater or a pedophile. In some movies there is a plot twist revealing a sinister secret about mom's new boyfriend (in The Lost Boys, he is a vampire and in the Child's Play remake, he is an adulterer). After this revelation, this character usually dies.
A couple of movie remakes like Body Snatchers (1993) and The Amityville Horror (2005) feature good stepparents that get forced into a villainous role because of malevolent forces. The stepmother in Body Snatchers gets an alien clone while the stepfather in The Amityville Horror gets possessed by demons. In both cases, these figures become a threat to their family, and they need to be defeated.
In two other cases, we have movies like The Craft and Dolls that feature a good stepparent that survives and a bad stepparent that dies.
In The Craft, Sarah's stepmother is out of focus, but we can infer that they have a positive relationship, and Sarah cares about her as well as her dad. In contrast, Nancy has an abusive stepfather, and he dies from a heart attack.
In Dolls, Judy's wicked stepmother and negligent father get their comeuppance at the hands of the titular villains. But Judy survives along with another friend Ralph, and he takes on a protective fatherly role to her. When they leave the haunted mansion, the ending implies that Ralph will get together with Judy's mother.
But there are also many horror stories that feature good stepparents that protect their families and survive the dangers facing them in the plot.
Examples of heroic stepmothers or dad's girlfriend in horror:
Fear - stepdaughter's abusive boyfriend
Unforgettable - jealous ex-wife
Damsel - dragon
Imaginary - demon
Daddy's Head - demon
Mother's Boys - jealous ex-wife
Examples of heroic stepfathers or mom's boyfriend in action/disaster movies
Independence Day - alien invasion
Dante's Peak - volcano
Poseidon - capsized ship
The Meg - prehistoric killer shark
Kindergarten Cop - mobsters
Pixels - alien invasion
It is interesting to consider the different characteristics of stepmoms and stepdads in the lists mentioned above.
When the main character meets a single parent with kids, the biological parent may be gone for different reasons: the biological mother is usually dead while the biological father has left the family. Both types of stepparents must earn their place in the family. The new stepmom must then help the family heal from the loss and lead them forward in life while the new stepdad must prove his worth and dedication to make up for the previous father's departure. When there is a problem, these characters must work together to overcome different challenges so that they can achieve a happy ending.
Heroism manifests differently for the new stepmom and the stepdad in these plots.
The stepmom is more likely to face interpersonal conflict, a smaller-scale disaster that only affects her and her family, especially when the enemy is a jealous former lover. She must gain trust from the children while facing an enemy that is trying to destroy their bond as well as their lives.
When the stepdad is facing danger, the catastrophe is usually on a larger scale, a force of nature that affects everyone in the world. He must then protect and guide the single mom and her children to safety and if possible, help rescue other people in peril. The stepdad earns his place when the family survives at the end of the crisis. His power comes from his physical strength and intellectual capabilities. The force of nature does not challenge the characters' bonds as much as it challenges their existence.
It is interesting to consider how the characteristics of stepparents manifests differently based on their gender in film. Future writers should take note of these patterns and think about new ways to portray blended families in different situations. I hope you enjoyed my exploration of stepparents in horror and thrillers. If you have other ideas, share them in the comments.
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