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Cast Summary Availability Foreign Covers Book vs. Movie |
CAST
Director: Wes Craven
Writing Credits: Glenn M. Benest, Max A. Keller, Lois Duncan (novel)
Linda Blair....Rachel Bryant
Billy Beck....Sheriff
Macdonald Carey....Professor Jarvis
Fran Drescher....Carolyn
Lee Purcell....Julia
Carol Lawrence....Leslie Bryant
Jeff East....Peter Bryant
Jeff McCracken (I)....Mike Gallagher
Jeremy Slate....Tom Bryant
MOVIE SUMMARY
Stranger in Our House aka Summer of Fear was the first movie based on a Lois Duncan novel. Released as a television movie back in 1978, it was directed by no other than Wes Craven (now famous horror filmmaker). This movie was Craven's earliest directing work (second to be exact).
The movie has two titles: Stranger in Our House and Summer of Fear. When it aired on TV, it was titled Stranger in Our House. The movie was then released outside the US in theaters as Summer of Fear with some scenes not shown during the TV release. The movie stars Lynda Blair, (The Exorcist) as Rachel Bryant and Fran Drescher (The Nanny TV series) as Rachel's best friend. Even Lois Duncan's daughter, Kerry, has a small role in this film as Annie.
Here is a summary of the movie:
A country family of five takes in cousin Julia, whose parents recently perished in a car crash. Julia extends her influence over the family and those around them, fooling all except for Rachel, the teenaged girl who knows her cousin is up to no good.
Another summary from All Movie:
Notable as an early effort from renowned horror filmmaker Wes Craven, this made-for-TV occult thriller was loosely adapted from a novel by Lois Duncan. Star Linda Blair -- whose film career had taken a detour into TV-movie territory after her legendary bow in The Exorcist -- returns to the demon-possession genre as a teenager who can't seem to convince her parents that her visiting southern-belle cousin (Lee Purcell) is an evil witch. Purcell's diabolical meddling seems focused entirely on the innocent Blair, who loses both her prize horse and her boyfriend to the scheming sorceress before the rest of the family catches on. Though Craven's well-known extremism is curbed by the limitations of television, his talent at generating high-intensity suspense is still evident, making this a modestly entertaining horror item.
The movie was released on DVD a few years ago. This DVD is now difficult to find in stores, but one can still order the DVD at many video stores online (try auction sites, too). On another good note, Lois Duncan stated she did like this movie compared to other movies such as I Know What You Did Last Summer. For more details on this movie click here.
AVAILABILITY
Buy Video/DVD: Probably. Maybe be difficult to find. Go here.
On TV: Rare.
Auctions Online: Check Ebay.
FOREIGN COVERS
 Old US VHS |  France |  Germany |  Italy |
 Denmark |
BOOKS VS. MOVIE
The summary from All Movie says "loosely based" on Lois Duncan's actual novel, but I doubt that the reviewer actually read the book because major portions of the movie comes from the book. A good adaptation. That's about it. Check the Book vs. Movie section for more information.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 10/14/08
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