The Stepfather is a 2009 American horror thriller film and a remake of the 1987 horror film of the same title. The film was directed by Nelson McCormick and stars Penn Badgley, Dylan Walsh and Sela Ward. The films are loosely based on the crimes of mass murderer John List. The film opens as Grady Edwards (Dylan Walsh) transforms himself in a bathroom. He shaves off his beard, dyes his hair, and removes his brown contact lenses. He goes downstairs with his luggage and fixes himself peanut butter toast and coffee. As he leaves the house, the camera reveals the bodies of his wife and her three children.