THE STEPFATHER (15, 101 mins) **
Starring Dylan Walsh, Penn Badgley, Sela Ward, Amber Heard, Braeden Lemasters, Skyler Samuels, Paige Turco, Sherry Stringfield

Thrillers about families in peril are two-a-penny and sadly, Nelson McCormick’s remake of a 1987 cult hit isn’t worth a single penny of your hard-earned money.

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The Stepfather is a predictable yarn about a wayward teenager, who suspects the new man in his mother’s life is a psychopath.

Dylan Walsh (pictured) plays the title character with barely concealed malice, and each step along the linear plot is set up so obviously.

The film opens with David Harris (Walsh) calmly shaving off a shaggy beard, changing his coloured contact lenses and popping a slice of bread into the toaster as he listens to Silent Night on the radio.

The camera pulls back to reveal the bodies of one woman and three children among the Christmas presents.

David heads for Oregon where he encounters divorcee Susan Harding (Ward) in a grocery store and sweet talks his way into her affections. She is smitten and introduces her new man to son Sean (Lemasters) and daughter Beth (Samuels).

Six months later, Susan’s troubled eldest boy, Michael (Badgley), returns from military school to find a new man poised to walk his mother down the aisle.

Michael initially views his stepfather-to-be with suspicion, but his girlfriend Kelly (Heard) convinces him to give David a chance.

When a neighbour recalls seeing someone like David on America’s Most Wanted, she takes an unfortunate tumble down the stairs.

“Accidents happen...” remarks David, and Michael senses danger under his own roof.

The Stepfather panders unashamedly to a teen audience with copious shots of Heard walking around in her underwear or bikini, and Gossip Girl hunk Badgley emerging from the pool or shower.

Walsh shoots murderous glares at most of his co-stars, while Ward sleepwalks through a thankless supporting role as a mother, blinded to the truth by love.

This thriller fails to generate any suspense as Michael sneaks around, looking for clues.

Audiences will only be surprised if they fall asleep and are woken by one of the obligatory shocks, like a cat springing out of a darkened closet, accompanied by a sudden loud burst of the film’s rumbling score.