Shelley and Sela

screen captures of Shelley Hack and Sela Ward
from the 1989 TV movie Bridesmaids

Shelley starred with Sela Ward (as well as Brooke Adams and Stephanie Faracy) in the 1989 TV movie Bridesmaids. It was about four women who rekindle their friendship when they all go back to their home town, after being apart for several years, for the wedding of a fifth friend. The telefilm is light, very well-paced and a delight to watch. The characters are interesting and the cast did a great job. Shelley and Sela had such great chemistry, it was fun to watch them in their scenes together.

more screen captures of Shelley Hack and Sela Ward
from the 1989 TV movie Bridesmaids

Two years earlier in 1987, Shelley was seen in the now classic slasher flick The Stepfather (a movie loosely based on on the story of John List, the New Jersey man who, in 1971, killed his own family and disappeared). Shelley played Susan Maine Blake, a widow with a daughter who marries a serial killer, brilliantly played by Terry O'Quinn, and becomes his next victim (along with her daughter). The film was a mild hit when it opened; but it had slowly gained an audience and critical acclaim as years went by elevating it to cult-classic status. The film (which spawned two lackluster sequels) was remade in 2009 with Sela Ward in Shelley's role; but instead of Susan Maine Blake, Sela's character was named Susan Harding and she was just about to marry the serial killer, played by Dylan Walsh. The remake was a mild hit, but it didn't capture the spine-chilling horror of the original film.

left, Terry O'Quinn and Shelley Hack in The Stepfather, 1987
right, Sela Ward and Dylan Walsh in The Stepfather, 2009