Stranger in Our House (1979)

Thanks for the memories!

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

I got this as a gift-the blu ray edition-and was excited to see it because I never heard of it. As far as the blu ray transfer it is not the greatest but worth a look.Blair should have two credits one being her hair. It was distracting but in a funny way. The movie itself was unfortunately slow and somewhat boring, I wasn't expecting much being 1978 so it was not as much of a disappointment than it should have been.Camp value is what you come to see this for. The showdown at the end which takes forever to get to was fabulously cheesy. The scene with her mother near the end was funny. But the biggest thing that surprised me was when she lost her boyfriend the family acts like its ok. Creepiest scenes were with the horse. The major twist I should have seen coming but didn't oh well must be getting old.Also Fran Dresher shows up here which was a surprise-that laugh ugh. If you like old 70s tv movies its worth a look just don't expect to find a hidden gem.

It's a 'Summer of Fear' for Rachel and her family when cousin Julia comes to live with them. Following the death of her parents, Julia moves to the countryside to stay with her extended family. Almost immediately after moving in, Rachel's life begins to unravel. Her parents begin to favour Julia over her, her beloved horse dies AND her boyfriend falls for her cousin Julia. Instead of chalking these horrible occurrences up to coincidence, Rachel begins to do some investigating. It's then that she discovers that Julia is in fact a witch, and is not her real cousin! 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 problem with it is that it drags a bit too much (like a TV movie does), so if you don't have the patience you won't get to the really fun parts (which are at the middle-end frame). I did however think it was a good horror flick. The acting was stellar from Linda Blair as Rachel, and Lee Purcell as the witch Julia. It's frustrating to watch Julia get away with everything and basically take Rachel's place. The movie does a good job of making you root for Rachel, which is good. Sometimes a lead can be annoying, or the villain is so entertaining that you turn on the "good girl". 'Summer of Fear' however really makes you feel bad for Rachel.I'd recommend this one for sure. It moves a little slow at the start and throughout some bits in the middle, but Blair and Purcell put in good performances and the story is a good one. There are some good location shots and creepy moments once "Julia" completely transforms into the witch she is. Check it out!6/10

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. Rachel lives on a semi-secluded family farm in Northern California with her wealthy parents and siblings. When her mother's sister and brother-in-law die in a horrible car crash, their daughter, Julia, comes to live with them permanently. 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. She begins getting close with Rachel's friends and her family, even stealing Rachel's boyfriend. After finding some strange items around the house (including burnt matches and a human tooth), Rachel discovers that Julia may be a practitioner of black magic. Now she must stop the evil witch before she launches her final assault.Okay, okay. I have to admit, some things in this movie were a bit laughable, mostly Linda Blair's poofy, frizzed out hairdo. The acting was alright, not great, but you can't expect a whole lot from it. 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. The film isn't scary at all, but I will say the finale was pretty well done, although by today's standards the effects may seem a bit cartoonish. 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. Although it lacked any substantial shocks or scares (except near the ending), I still found it to be a fun little piece of '70s nostalgia. 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. All around good television terror. 7/10.

I really REALLY like this film. I first seen this on , what do you know , public TV around Halloween time. Although I did not see it in its original release - I still found this enjoyable and spooky and the fact that Linda Blair is in this made it so much more enjoyable to watch. I seen it was on last year , around Halloween time on public TV - and I hope they decide to play it again this year.... Good Halloween fun. Not so scary but a bit creepy. Also , the ending is the best part. These days it also seems a bit funny at times. But I see it also as believable. PEACE & Happy Halloween to you and yours :)