‘Stepfather’ (2026) is an Uninspired Remake of the ’87 Original with Weak Writing and Treatment of Mental Health

After a much-needed long vacation with my wife, we found ourselves tired of the long walks on the beach, happy hour margaritas, and Michelin-star-rated dinners and just wanted to get back to our couch and watch Sunday movies. Since our return home there has been a lot of buzz on different social media platforms about the latest Tubi movie starring Taye Diggs, most notably known for his work in the ’90s. However, Diggs is back with a Tubi re-imagining of the 1987 “The Stepfather,” and this film made me miss going through TSA.

Ok, so where do I begin? Whether you’ve seen the original film or the remake released in 2009, you can pretty much guess what’s to come. A recently divorced or widowed mom is out one day at the market and runs into the almost perfect man at the most vulnerable time in her life. One thing leads to another, and in no time they are married before the cashier can ask if that would be cash or card. Naturally, the kids are reserved and not willing to accept affection from their newly found guardian, but who cares about what the child wants? This is mom’s time to shine. Some things are simply a given, and I can’t fault the film for using predictable tropes. However, everything falls apart, bit-by-bit, from the moment “action” was called on set.

Weak Writing Brings ‘Stepfather’ Down

This film is a hot mess. What was meant to be a psychological thriller turns out to be everything but. Leon (Taye Diggs) — the film’s antagonist — as stated by his therapist in the film, suffers from hallucinations from childhood trauma. Not bipolar disorder, not schizophrenia, or PTSD — just plain old hallucinations. And this is one of my biggest issues with this movie. This comes off as a half-baked product with a lazy attempt to highlight mental illness. The film could have benefited from actually talking to a licensed psychologist about men’s mental health and the things that trigger them instead of blindly guessing and explaining hallucinations to a room full of clueless and incompetent cops. As the story moves forward, you don’t know what the actual diagnosis is; it’s all left up for interpretation. Which makes me further believe that they were writing this as it was being filmed.

Portraying the newly single mom was Tamar Braxton from the infamous Braxton Family singing group. Sure, no one can doubt her stage presence, but it was absent in this film. Many of the actors’ performances were stiff and unconvincing. Granted, the writing was so surface-level that they didn’t have much to work with. But where was the chemistry between the newlyweds? Besides the physical attraction, there was nothing from these two leads that showed the audience they were inseparable enough to expedite a marriage after just six months of meeting in a Whole Foods.

A Lack of Tension; Misuse of Men’s Mental Health

All things mentioned can easily be forgotten or forgiven if you simply give the audience a chilling thriller, and that’s not the case. One of the first things I noticed while watching this film was the camerawork and editing. Aside from the terrible pacing, most scenes were filmed from very questionable angles and quickly cut to another, not allowing anyone to truly digest what had happened. But what about the suspense? I’m glad you asked — it’s non-existent. Dramatic moments depend on dissonant scores to raise the tension in the most predictable way. We know he will be the man in the mirror when the camera pans away, so the clashing sound of instruments just seemed so forced.

However, the biggest crime of them all is the film’s conclusion. All that buildup in its 95-minute run-time came to an epic end, and it’s just flat. At no point was I concerned with anyone’s safety. The cops involved in the case were just there to cut away from the family whenever the writers couldn’t think of any dialogue or family matters, and the spotlight that attempted to shine on men’s mental health just felt distasteful (June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, by the way). I’m happy Taye Diggs is still out there pursuing an acting career, but this ain’t it.

Continue Exploring: all reviews of films starring Taye Diggs