Stepfather 2

Jerry Blake is institutionalized in Puget Sound, Washington after surviving the earlier attack. He begins regular meetings with a psychiatrist at the facility, using the sessions to stay under control. The treatment setting becomes the seedbed for his eventual plan to escape.

During his therapy, Blake gains his psychiatrist's trust, then kills the psychiatrist and a guard. He escapes by donning the guard's uniform and slipping away from the facility. The escape sets him on the run toward freedom.

At a train depot, he shoots and kills a traveling salesman, stealing his car and money. He uses the guard's uniform to fool watchers and avoids pursuit. The act secures his transportation and anonymity for the next phase.

Blake checks into a hotel, changes his appearance, and assumes the identity of the deceased publisher Gene F. Clifford. He travels to Palm Meadows, Los Angeles, beginning life under a new name. This marks the formal start of his carefully crafted second persona.

In Palm Meadows, Gene presents himself as a psychiatrist and rents a house across from Carol Grayland and her 13-year-old son Todd. He conducts sessions and social visits to ingratiate himself with the neighborhood. His goal is to become a trusted figure in their lives.

Gene begins courting Carol and bonds with Todd, projecting a stable, fatherly image. Phil, Carol's husband, returns wanting to reconcile, threatening Gene's growing foothold. Gene uses charm to push Phil away and secure Carol's trust.

Gene engineers a meeting with Phil, smashing a bottle over his head and stabbing him to death. He then records Phil's disappearance as a voluntary departure. The murder removes the obstacle to Gene's marriage plan with Carol.

With Phil gone, Gene and Carol proceed with plans to marry, solidifying their domestic cover. The wedding preparations continue as Gene maintains his composed facade. The community believes the couple is starting a new life together.

Matty Crimmins, the local mail carrier and Carol's friend, becomes suspicious of Gene. She snoops through his mail and finds a letter addressed to the real Gene Clifford, including a photo revealing Gene's true identity. She confronts Gene and urges him to tell Carol the truth.

Gene pressures Matty to back off and later sneaks into her house to strangle her, making it look like a suicide. He also steals her last bottle of wine to cover his tracks. The killing goes unseen as the wedding draws near.

Sam Watkins, Matty's blind neighbor, hears Gene whistling 'Camptown Races' and mentions it to Carol the next day. The tune becomes a clue that connects the murders to Gene. The neighborhood starts to sense something is off.

On the day of the wedding, Carol recognizes Matty's wine brand among Gene's bottles and overhears Todd whistling the same tune Gene taught him. Confronted with these links, she confronts Gene, triggering a violent confrontation. The truth of Gene's past edges toward exposure.

Gene attacks Carol and Todd in a storage closet, but Todd breaks free and stabs Gene with a claw hammer. Gene collapses as Carol and Todd push through to the ceremony, their bloodied presence shocking the wedding party. The struggle ends with Gene badly wounded and momentarily defeated.

Carol and Todd enter the wedding hall with bloodied clothes while Gene staggers and utters 'Till death...' before collapsing from his wounds. The immediate threat to Carol and Todd subsides, but the killer's ending remains ominous. In the extended version, the couple is shown living happier and more confident in the park afterward.

In the extended cut, Carol and Todd recover from the ordeal and are depicted enjoying a carefree life in the park. The film thus offers a glimpse of happiness beyond the terror, contrasting with the violence of Gene's rampage. The final image reinforces a fragile sense of safety for the survivors.