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This fall Daddy's home. Amber Heard as: Kelly Additional Cast: Penn Badgley, Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward Production Status: Completed Release Date: October 16, 2009 Directed By: Nelson McCormick Screenwriters: J.S. Cardone Genre: Horror / Thriller MPAA Rating: PG-13 Michael Harding (Penn Badgley) returns home from military school to find his mother (Sela Ward) happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David (Dylan Walsh). As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there with a helpful hand. Is he really the man of her dreams or could David be hiding a dark side? Amber Heard co-stars as Kelly, Michael's supportive girlfriend. In the original 1987 horror favorite, Terry O'Quinn (of Lost fame) played the infamous Stepfather. The movie spawned two sequels.

Filming Locations:
- Los Angeles, California, USA

Adrianne Palicki was in negotiations for Heard's part, but the dates did not work out, according to her reps.

In March of 2007, Amber was promoting Never Back Down during the days and then filming The Stepfather at night!

Coming soon!

"I play a girl named Kelly, the girlfriend of the stepson and I'm a very strong part of the family that the stepfather infiltrates and everything falls apart after that."
- Amber Heard

"I'm actually the girlfriend of the stepson, who is played by Penn Badgley."
- Amber Heard

"Yeah he [Terry O'Quinn] has a cameo or small role in the film. The director wanted him to be the in it for a small appearance."
- Amber Heard

"I think there's a part when you sign your soul to the devil and start working in Los Angeles that you also sign away that you could be a human being in anyone's eye. You're like a robot!" [On promoting Never Back Down during the days and filming this at night.]
- Amber Heard

It doesn’t hurt that the supporting cast includes a very strong Sela Ward (looking here like Tina Fey’s big sister), newcomer Penn Badgley (as the untrusting son Michael), and the previously mentioned Amber Heard, who is used here as little more than curvaceous window dressing — but she’s also turning out to be a surprisingly fine actress. Unfortunately this overqualified cast is left to meander through a cut & paste B-movie potboiler that offers (very) little in the way of surprises.
- FearNet

The flagrant and crude manipulation would digest easier if the two young stars could act. Instead, Badgley looks and sound like a heavily sedated version of Mark Wahlberg (Jill Schoelen was a much feistier teen killjoy), and Heard is atrocious in a role that requires nothing more from her than the ability to tie a bikini top. These two weren’t hired for their acting gifts, I understand, but they’re in charge of nurturing the mystery. Without a pair of lively, believable spoilers stepping in David’s way, there’s no reason to invest in the nonsense.
- DVD Talk

To be fair, I walked into the The Stepfather with little to no expectations. The trailer did nothing to thrill me (except the the buzz saw scene) and looked like it was trying to capitalize on success of a Disturbia-like audience but only a luke warmer version of it. At the least, the best I hoped for this movie was a flick you might want to watch out of boredom and get sucked in. But it really wasn't the case. It felt mostly a chore to watch.

But as these things go, being a fan of Amber Heard I decided to venture out and at the least support the movie with a $10 ticket for her sake, like I did with last year's Never Back Down which was a whopping unsuccess for me.

It seems the filmmakers of The Stepfather had mixed intentions. In some parts of the film, there could be little spots of enjoyment. I dug the opening, although it won't be very memorable in the log run and I even liked how the characters try to burst their cliché bubbles - but ultimately the film is too tangled with its own clichés and predictability to remain even the slightest bit effective. ... (read all) - Mycah

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