Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 10/13/09 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley plays Michael, a military school student returning home, in the thriller Stepfather. The film is a remake of the 1987 horror film.

Fans of the hit TV series Gossip Girl know Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey-the sensitive, struggling writer from Brooklyn who is alienated from his Upper-East Side classmates. "Lonely Boy's" kind-heartedness combined with his awkward stammering caused all of his female fans to fall in love with him.

However, Badgley's fans will be pleasantly surprised when they see him star in a leading role in The Stepfather, a remake of the 1987 horror film. Badgley's character, Michael, returns from military school only to find his mother happily in love with a man named David, played by Dylan Walsh of Nip/Tuck. Michael suspects that David is not who he says he is, but no one seems to believe him. Michael starts to piece together mystery, but he may be too late.

This film is different than many other horror or thriller flicks because there's more of a storyline and a plot that will draw the audience in. There are more twists and turns that will keep you invested in the film as opposed to the 1987 version of The Stepfather, which relied more on horror gimmicks and a predatory killer-victim storyline.

In a college conference call that took place Monday, October 5, Badgley describes similarities and differences between his character in Gossip Girl and Michael: "Michael is similar to Dan Humphrey in that they are both alienated. Michael feels alienated from his family, while Dan is alienated from the Upper-East Side social scene. However, Michael is frustrated with his alienation while Dan accepts it."

The character Dan Humphrey comes naturally to Badgley. His role as Michael is more difficult in that "the character needs to get from point A to point B with the route that the script dictates and it's sometimes difficult to make it work and try and make the steps realistic. It was like mental gymnastics," he explains.

He also describes his role as being "much more physically challenging than anything I've ever done." Sometimes, there would be 30 minutes between takes and Badgley would have to pump himself up if it was a physical or emotionally intense scene.

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