LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

tamosoeka Rachel was the funniest part. She looked funny, talked funny, sometimes became intolerable. But it didn't make me laugh. It made me yawn.Considering the film is made in 1978, that is forgivable. Clearly Hollywood wasn't what it is today all the way back then. They gave it a try, they made something.Julia - who was meant to be the witch, had some grace in her character. Rachel behaved like a disturbing teeny, which she is - in the film. The most interesting part in the film is, a witch can't be photographed. This was what drawn me towards it. Julia's photos wasn't showing her, and that was the best thing to happen in the whole film.The film is boring, but it made me search about the author. Lois Duncan did write quite a few good stories, at least that's what it sounds like from her wiki.It should have a remake I think. Today's directors would make a good commercial out of it.The 1978 attempt failed.

Bofsensai BUT NOTE = UNMISSABLE TEN STAR ********** L. BLAIR ENTRY! This TV movie is now perhaps more fairly titled the same as its (Lois Duncan) book source, although was originally shown more accurately with the title 'Stranger in Our House', since it's an early example of the ' dangerous / nutter cuckoo in the nest' genre that became popular later (like Single White Female and Hand that Rocks Cradle etc.), and so, if not matched with such as some sort of double bill, is otherwise a fairly routine 'nobody believes me, I'm the only one who can see we have a destructive force right under our noses' more or less forgettable offering …Ah, that is UNLESS, in curio, you watch keeping in mind it was the late W.Craven's not only, only third film, but also his first in 35 mm apparently (Last House and Hills were in 16mm, did you know? - all gleaned from re-issue W.Craven collection direct from the, ah, horse's* mouth audio commentary), but even then seems dully devoid of any of his flourishes. (Being a TV film, certainly none of his more characteristic horror gore.)OR, for the real reason a must see watch, is if you are a fan of pint sized, cherub faced beauty dear Linda Blair, coz in which case, this becomes a simply unmissable TEN STAR film in her oeuvre, since she is not only in virtually every scene, but she sports an utterly magnificent 70's style big hair ringlet perm throughout by which to top some superb flashing eyes and smiles sessions (particularly when grooming her horse) - e.g. at one time slapped in the face by Mom that appears to be so realistically hard, that her subsequent burst into tears is surely genuine rather than acting. In short (opps, sorry about that pun there) she really is delightful in this one. (And in passing, I can imagine Wes was rather enamoured of her - rear end profile especially, too, as there are surprisingly many of her posed or walking away longueur takes throughout its running!)BTW:, once you settle down so to savour Linda, you can also look out for (I believe debut?) of future 'Nanny' Fran Dreschler, already almost incapable of disguising that idiosyncratic Bronx nasal drawl of hers.So, if not a L. Blair fan, beware, although, perhaps can also be fun double billed with another of the source material' s Ms. Duncan's 'summers' titles: 'I Know What you did Last Summer', too. *And apparently that's how they got horse-riding mad Linda to star, by changing the 'it can intuit a witch' animal from the book source, originally a dog.

pain93 After reading SUMMER OF FEAR by great author Ms. Lois Duncan, I had discovered this little film. It took me forever to find it until one day I was at the video store and found it hiding away with the old used up VHS'S. And so I picked it up and brought it home. The film for the most part stays true to the novel, with the exception of a few minor changes. The acting is what I like to call 'Made for TV' in which it is not really great, but it is not really terrible. The script lacks a tad bit, but over all this film is highly entertaining. Sure it is no where near Craven's SCREAM or A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET but it is a good movie. The special effects are dated, but it is not like this film is an Oscar winning picture. The climax is a fun traditional cat fight and the ending is good. This movie makes me feel like Im watching one of those lifetime network films...but in a good way. I really do like SUMMER OF FEAR. It's enjoyable and entertaining. Worth a watch!

lost-in-limbo Rachael Bryant's cousin, Julia comes to live with her family at the country farm, after her parents where killed in a car accident. Though during her stay, strange things begin to happen, like the horse seems to lose it around Julia and men in the Rachael's life seem to fall under her spell. She tries to convince her family and friends that there's something not quite right about Julia, but she gets dismissed as nothing more but jealously.I was quite impressed for what is was and Craven's low-budget TV feature (after such brutally raw efforts as "The Last House on the Left" and "The Hills Have Eyes") is an earnest curio, despite its timid treatment for a wider audience. This version is the international extended cut of American TV movie "Stranger in The House" and was adapted from the novel of Lois Duncan. The seductively adorable Lee Purcell definitely casts a spell over you in her hypnotic performance as the sweetly venomous cousin Julia. In the words of Cliff Richards, "She's just a devil woman. With evil on her mind. Beware the devil woman. She's gonna get you." An engrossingly likable doll face Linda Blair (who has one puffy hairdo!) is the main attraction (five years after her demonic role in "The Exorcist") and is tailor made for the part. While, it starts off slowly and the material sticks to a fundamental pattern. Craven manages to keep it interesting by drawing you in. He rallies up the ominous tension sufficiently and feed us to some black humour, but it does seem to lose that edge created earlier on by falling into predictability and nonsensical actions (plenty of rash decisions) that creep into the latter half. This is when it also finally picks up the pace and adds the (somewhat cheesy) thrills and chills to the mixture. The laughable special effects also kick in too. The way they approach the camera-work is glaringly workable and the overwhelming music score sticks to the same close-circuit cues. And throw in one of those endings. Yeah, one of those! The performances from the rest of the cast are simply okay and an early appearance by Fran Drescher wasn't too annoying. Good lord! Maybe it was because she didn't get enough screen time to provide her irritating twang.A compellingly solid offering without being too daring or surprising, but its Purcell and Blair's performances that makes this general item passable. Just move right in!