It stars Robert Wightman, Priscilla Barnes, David Tom, and Season Hubley.

The film follows a serial killer seeking out another family to become a part of, using plastic surgery to disguise himself from the authorities.

Unlike the previous two installments, Stepfather III was released made-for-television and Terry O'Quinn does not star in the title role.

Gene kills the doctor by slitting his throat with a saw and makes his way to Deer View, where he acquires an identity, Keith Grant, as well as a cottage and a job at a nursery.

Keith meets principal Christine Davis and her son Andy, who uses a wheelchair after an accident, although doctors believe his continued inability to walk is psychosomatic.

Andy asks friend Father Ernest Brennan to help him discover Keith's past.

Keith knows that Father Brennan saw him with Jennifer and Nicky, and has asked him some questions about his past, so he excuses himself after dinner and follows the priest home, running him off the road and making it look like an accident.

Reviews of the film were varied, with Variety's Tony Scott stating "[The] film lurches on without much credibility" before going on to say "blood spurts, but director (and co-writer with Marc B. Ray) Guy Magar doesn't make the horror convincing.

The simplistic story line and the unconvincing portrayal by Wightman haven't been enhanced by indifferent production values.

"[5] Entertainment Weekly's Doug Brod gave the film a D+, referring to it as "a poorly scripted, all-too-familiar chiller", also calling Robert Wightman "robotic" and "a weak substitute for previous death-dealing dad Terry O'Quinn".