Stranger in Our House

Plot synopsis:
The story concerns a young woman named Julia (Lee Purcell) who goes to live with her aunt's family after she loses both her parents and their housekeeper in a car crash. Although they haven't seen her in ten years, Julia's aunt Leslie, her husband Tom (Jeremy Slate), her son Peter (Jeff East), daughter Rachel (Linda Blair) and youngest son Bobby (James Jarnigan) are all eager to make the new member of the house feel welcome. Rachel is especially thrilled at the thought of having a girl her age around the house and even offers to split her bedroom with her cousin, but Julia seems painfully shy. The family takes note of her strange accent, as it's not the way most people who live on the east coast speak. Trying to open up a bit, Julia gets a makeover and develops a more sophisticated façade.
One day, Rachel's horse Sundance attacks Julia and tries to trample her. Julia recovers and begins insinuating herself into the family. Rachel's brother and dad seem particularly taken with the fetching young lady in their midst. Odd things begin to happen. After having earlier found a human tooth among Julia's belongings, Rachel discovers a photo of herself missing...and her face breaks out in blotchy hives. She also begins to notice that Julia doesn't always have a reflection in the mirror. The hives render Rachel unable to attend a dance. Julia accompanies Rachel's boyfriend Mike (Jeff McCracken) instead, borrowing a dress that Rachel had made for herself; an arrangement that Rachel should never have agreed to because Mike becomes smitten with Julia and they begin dating. To make matters worse, the cousin also forges a close friendship with Carolyn (Fran Drescher), Rachel's best friend. The next day, Rachel enters into a competition with Sundance, where the horse flips out, breaking its leg in the process and forcing a vet to put it to sleep.
To her surprise, Rachel finds things in Julia dresser drawers that point to something sinister - burned hair from her fallen horse and her missing photo covered in red paint spots. She speaks to Professor Jarvis (Macdonald Carey) who tells her it may indeed be the work of someone who practices black magic. Before she can show him the evidence however, the professor collapses and is rushed to the hospital. A letter that Julia receives from a friend gets the best of Rachel's curiosity. Rachel phones the friend in Boston and discovers that Julia supposedly sings in her school's glee club. Knowing that the person living in her house doesn't have any interest in music, Rachel further suspects something is not right. Immersing herself in books on the occult, Rachel starts to believe Julia is a witch. During a visit to the professor at the hospital, he tells her that witches do not show up in photographs. A camera is a machine and machines cannot be coerced, she's told. The next day, Rachel encourages her mother to take pictures of the reluctant cousin. Everything comes to a head when Leslie plans a road trip and Rachel finds a map with burn marks on it. It looks as if Julia is planning on causing her mother to have an accident. She also sees Julia overtly seducing her father.
Too late to stop Leslie from leaving on the trip, Rachel develops the roll of film herself and clearly sees that her suspicions have been correct all along...Julia is nowhere to be found in the photos. Suddenly, Julia comes pounding into the darkroom and the two have a fierce struggle. Rachel manages to break away and she locks the door to the room. She then evades her dad, who tries to stop her. Julia breaks out of the room...her eyes a ghastly white and red. Rachel rushes over to Mike and tells him to get in his car so they can find her mother. Julia takes off after them, hitting Mike's car and trying to drive them off the road. Finally, Rachel and Mike catch sight of Rachel's mom, whose car causes Julia to drive off a cliff to a fiery explosion below. It is then revealed that the real Julia perished alongside her parents in the car crash, and that it was actually Sarah, their housekeeper, who survived the accident. The Bryant family tries to return to normal. Meanwhile, another family welcomes a new nanny into their household. A woman who looks remarkably like the stranger who terrorized the Bryant home...

Tags: cult, romantic

Review:
Linda Blair is this film's main draw today, but Lee Purcell is the real star of the show: at first I wasn't too sure about her, but she has the mysteriously seductive presence that her role calls for, and her performance literally gets better by the minute.
This may be a Wes Craven movie, but it is also a TV movie, so it is rather tame in terms of sexuality and violence; there are few real surprises and few real thrills until the last 15 minutes and the (long awaited) catfight between Blair and Purcell.
With its "evil stranger is disrupting the life of a normal happy family" plot, you could say that this film was ahead of its time; thrillers of this type didn't become popular until the early 90's, with "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" and others like it.
Lois Duncan's young-adult mystery novel "Summer of Fear" gets a fine, if low-budget, television treatment, capably directed by Wes Craven.
Intriguing story features an appealing Linda Blair playing popular young woman and horse-rider whose family takes in her orphaned cousin--a perplexing girl who harbors secret evil powers.
Lee Purcell is excellent as cousin Julia, pulling off a showy role without lapsing into camp (although the make-up and special effects near the finish are somewhat cartoonish by today's standards).
It involves a young girl (like most of Duncan's books) who finds herself confronted by the possibility that her 'dear' cousin is actually a witch hell bent on destroying her family and small circle of friends.
Seeing that this was from legendary horror director Wes Craven, and starring Linda Blair (who served as the demon-possessed girl, Regan, in "The Exorcist"), I decided to give "Summer of Fear" a chance.
I wasn't expecting a TV movie (which was titled "Stranger In Our House" during it's television run), but I actually ended up enjoying it.The film centers around a teenage girl named Rachel.
Julia seems somewhat normal, if not a little bit shy and withdrawn, but as time progresses, she puts an alluring spell over everyone she meets, and pulls all of Rachel's family and friends away from her.
I have to admit, some things in this movie were a bit laughable, mostly Linda Blair's poofy, frizzed out hairdo.
Linda Blair's performance was decent, if not a little whiny at times, Lee Purcell pulled off the 'mysterious cousin' archetype, and Fran Drescher even had a small role as one of Rachel's friends.
I found it interesting to see Craven directing a film of this nature in his earlier years, considering he had just done brutal horror films such as "The Hills Have Eyes" and "Last House on the Left".To sum things up, I have to give "Summer of Fear" some credit— being a campy TV movie from the '70s, it has some chops.
Give it a look if you enjoy campy '70s horror, or if you want to see some of Craven's earlier work, because it is quite different from the films that he is most known for.
Yet, it is not a bad movie, if you can get past the special effects.Yes, Linda Blair has that weird perm-thing going on; she is the daughter who suspects something is amiss with her cousin, played by Lee Purcell.
Carol Lawrence plays Blair's mother, and there is an amusing scene where Purcell flirts with Jeff East, Ms. Blair's father.As this story was written by Lois Duncan, upon whose stories "I Know What You Did Last Summer" as well as "Killing Mr. Griffin" were turned into film, one can at least enjoy the story; and Wes Craven does an interesting job of directing this.
Campy, Kooky Made-For-TV Fun. After Wes Craven made the groundbreaking "Last House on the Left" and "Hills Have Eyes", he fell into a bit of a rut before finally finding his footing again with the 1984 classic "A Nightmare on Elm Street".
"Summer of Fear", the film I will be looking at today, is Wes Craven's third directorial effort.
It's an ambitious effort to say the least but how well does a made for TV horror movie stand up 30 years last?The story is about a girl, Rachel Bryant (Linda Blair), who lives with her wealthy family in a nice house in the hills of Northern California.
After her mother's sister, brother-in-law, and housekeeper die in a horrible car crash, the couple's daughter, Julia (Lee Purcell) comes to live with them.
Julia seems a little shy if anything, but as time goes on, she begins to put an alluring spell over everyone she meets, pulling all of Rachel's family and friends away from her.
After finding some odd things that belong to Julia (including a human tooth and burnt hair from Rachel's dog Trickle (for the movie the dog was changed to a horse due to Blair's love of horses and the name of the horse was Sundance instead of Trickle), Rachel begins to suspect that her cousin may be a practitioner of witchcraft, and she's hell-bent on turning Rachel's life upside down.
The plot has something to do with this evil girl from the south that is sent to live with Linda Blair and her family after her parents die in a car accident.
The special effects are corny, the editing choppy, and the acting is mediocre at best (wait till you see Fran "The Nanny" Dresher as Linda Blair's nasally best friend) and yet I still kinda enjoyed this picture.
I wasn't surprised, as most '70s movies like this are cheesy, but I had still been hoping for something a little better.First of all, the actress who played Julia was horrible.
Gimme a break!All in all, this movie is slightly entertaining due to horrible '70s hair, incestuous family members, Fran Drescher as a teenager, and the dildo type thing that Rachel finds with Julia's stuff.
They start living in the same house and as time goes by strange things start to happen to the girl (Blair) and Blair soon finds out that her cousin is a witch and is out to make Blair's life a living hell by takeing away her boyfriend as well as stealing affection away from her family.
Anyone who is familiar with Wes Craven's films knows that he is a horror legend, making such classics as A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and Scream.
Linda Blair, Lee Purcell, and Fran Drescher gave the best performances of the film.
Linda Blair known for her 1973 hit, "The Exorcist", plays Rachel, a girl on a ranch who has a younger brother gets to have a sibling her own age.
After the success of low-budget shockers The Last House on The Left and The Hills Have Eyes, Craven opted to pay the bills by working on this made-for-TV chiller starring a podgy Linda Blair.
Bound by broadcasting regulations, the result is a tepid and predictable affair, lacking the imagination and visceral impact of the director's previous horror films.Blair stars as teenager Rachel Bryant, whose idyllic life gradually turns into a nightmare after her pretty cousin Julia (Lee Purcell) moves into her home, her own parents having accidentally driven off the edge of a cliff.
How wrong can they be?As things unfold exactly as you imagine they will, Craven delivers a few scenes of 'mild peril' but nothing truly scary (although Blair's huge hair, the sight of the dumpy actress crammed into a nasty pink dress, and Fran Drescher's voice are somewhat disturbing).
Stranger in Our House (1978) ** (out of 4) Made-for-TV horror film about teenager Rachel Bryant (Linda Blair) whose life turns upside down when her cousin Julia (Lee Purcell) comes to live with her family after the death of her parents.
At first everything seems okay but soon all sorts of strange things start to happen and soon Rachel begins to think that her cousin is a witch.Wes Craven made this shortly after THE HILLS HAVE EYES and it should go without saying that this here isn't in the same league as that terrifying thriller.
Jeremy Slate, Carol Lawrence and Macdonald Carey are all good in their supporting roles.STRANGER IN OUR HOUSE is a pretty bland and boring movie that doesn't have too much going for it..
A teenage girl (Linda Blair)'s life is turned upside down after her cousin (Lee Purcell) moves into her house, and as time goes by, she begins to suspect that she may be a practitioner of witchcraft.One has to go into this film with the right mindset.
Cheesy but entertaining '70s TV movie starring Scream Queen Linda Blair.
SUMMER OF FEAR started out as a 1978 made-for-TV movie, directed by LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT's Wes Craven and starring THE EXORCIST actress Linda Blair.
The storyline is a straightforward 'cuckoo in the nest' type one, in which spoilt rich girl Linda Blair is put out of joint when her cousin joins the family after her parents are killed in a car accident.It soon transpires that said cousin has been dabbling in witchcraft, something confirmed by a put-upon college professor (a welcome role for SHADOW OF A DOUBT's Macdonald Carey).
You can hardly blame them: dressing in the frumpiest clothes imaginable and saddled with an appalling 'Afro' haircut, the Blair looks like an eyesore here and her character's a real whiner.The supernatural elements of the narrative are limited, but there's some good stuff with spooked horses and an action-packed climax that involves car chases and cat-fights, all well handled on a low budget.
It's a 'Summer of Fear' for Rachel and her family when cousin Julia comes to live with them.
With no one believing her, can Rachel save her family and herself from death at the hands of witchcraft?'Summer of Fear' tells a good story and is enjoyable to watch, but can't get past it's "Made for TV" label.
The acting was stellar from Linda Blair as Rachel, and Lee Purcell as the witch Julia.
Wow, you'd think a TV movie by Wes Craven would be pretty suspenseful, right?
By 1978, director Wes Craven was best known for his brash exploitation thrillers The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes, making this film something of a change of pace for him as not only doesn't it feature the hardcore violence of the latter two films - it's actually a 'made for TV' picture!
Fair enough, it doesn't break any traditions and it doesn't have a whole lot of 'bite', but the story is perfectly paced and this ensures that the director is able to keep things interesting throughout, and this is what makes Summer of Fear a cut above your average TV movie.
Her aunt and uncle are killed in a car crash one day and, other than the obvious implications of this event, it turns out to be really bad news for her as her cousin comes to stay with the family.
Julia Trent is an instant hit with the household and all their friends - but her antics aren't fooling Rachel, who comes to believe that Julia is a witch.This is the sort of story that would lend itself brilliantly to a book (the film is based on the children's novel of the same title written by Lois Duncan), but doesn't often translate well to the big screen.
The film stars Linda Blair in one of her first post-Exorcist horror roles, and she does brilliantly with it.
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.
Stranger in Our house is a pretty good film as TV movies go.
The script takes some of the best elements from Lois Duncan's great book, Summer of Fear.
My main motivation to watch "Summer of Fear" actually was the devilish bit of hope to witness Drescher die painfully on screen, but alas, this is a TV-movie so there's really not that much suffering going on.
"Summer of Fear" is a modest, well-intended and remotely atmospheric little thriller, but it's far too tame to satisfy real horror fans and it honestly would have ended up in oblivion long time ago already if it weren't for the names of Wes Craven and Linda Blair parading the DVD-cover.
Craven had already built up a solid reputation with the genuine 70's shockers "Last House on the Left" and "The Hills Have Eyes", and Linda Blair was undeniably one of the genre's best-selling faces since her unforgettable role in "The Exorcist".
These three titles definitely qualify as rough and mature horror movies unsuitable for squeamish viewers, but here Craven and Blair team up for a "soft" story about a teenage girl who's the only one to realize her enchanting niece is really a deceptive and malignant sorceress.
The competitive and notably hostile on screen chemistry between Linda Blair and Lee Purcell keeps the wholesome endurable  and even a bit entertaining  but "Summer of Fear" is overlong and unexciting.
Julia's cousin Rachel (Linda Blair), on the other hand, is no assumer.
Right off, Mr. Craven tells us this was Linda Blair's first film after being in trouble with the police.
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?
(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.
Good, Stupid Fun. Imagine "All About Eve," except it's about some stupid family out West instead of theater and you have Linda Blair instead of Bette Davis and the dialogue is unintentionally as opposed to intentionally hilarious, and you've pretty much got this movie.
But all you Linda Blair fans out there know something terrible is about to happen to her, and it does -- the arrival of a taller, prettier cousin from Boston who survived a car crash that killed the rest of her family and left her talking like a Mandrell sister.
It's a TV movie and Craven directs it like one - big long takes of people spouting the most truly hilarious dialogue you can imagine...
It is funny to think this was the same guy that made Nightmare on Elmstreet.The entire film is shot on the brightest of days and this serious doesn't help in building any terror but strangely it does enhance that play on teenage anxiety, jealousy and insecurity and I guess this is what keeps you watching to the end - you can identify with that position of being a teen again and all the terror (and boy oh boy that's real terror) that goes with it - if only the dialogue, plotting and direction (sorry Wes) wasn't so bad.
This movie is based on the book "Summer of Fear" by Lois Duncan, and it's the greatest book!
Their daughter, her cousin, Julia, is coming to live with the family.
The dog growls at Cousin Julia and nips at her but that in no way is as  threatning as when the horse goes aftyer her in the movie (a good scene in the movie).
For swhile it was hard getting a copy of the Tv movie that goes by two titles: SUMMER OF FEAR and STRANGER IN OUR HOUSE.
The box boasts that it is drirected by WES CRAVEN, maker of SCREAM and NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and that it stars Linda Blair.
After reading SUMMER OF FEAR by great author Ms. Lois Duncan, I had discovered this little film.
Sure it is no where near Craven's SCREAM or A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET but it is a good movie.
This movie makes me feel like Im watching one of those lifetime network films...but in a good way.
This October 31,2008 will mark the 30th anniversary of "Summer of Fear"/"Stranger in our House"(which ever you prefer).A young girl named Rachel (played by the Exorcist's Linda Blair)is visited by her cousin Julia(Lee Purcell)after Julia's parents are killed in a car accident.Everyone likes Julia and is taken by her at first.