Summer Of Fear aka Stranger In Our House

     Wes Craven followed up his infamous LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and his controversial THE HILLS HAVE EYES with the superbly entertaining made-for-TV horror flick SUMMER OF FEAR, based on the young-adult mystery novel by Lois Duncan, and stars the one and only Linda Blair. Of course it sounds irresistible, and well, it is.

     Rachel, perfectly played by Linda Blair, is your typical, free-wheeling teenager who loves horseback riding, has a major crush on a boy, and pretty much lives a golden life. However, her world is shaken up one sunny morning with the stunning news of the death of her aunt and uncle, who along with their housekeeper, died in a car accident in the Ozark Mountains. As a result of this tragedy, their teenage daughter Julia, played by Lee Purcell, is coming to live with Rachel and her family. And suddenly all hell breaks loose.

     Rachel likes Julia at first, who comes across as rather mousy and scared of her own shadow.  But Rachel soon realizes there is something mysterious going on with dowdy Julia, as she seems to be taking over Rachel's life, her family, her crush, and her friends- which by the way, is played by none other than Fran Drescher from "The Nanny"! Soon Julia starts dressing like Rachel, even copying her hair, as the whole thing builds to a completely satisfying catfight showdown of a climax.

     Now even though this is a Wes Craven production, don't expect a brutal exercise in horror. However, it's a nifty little nail-biter that's solid and campy and all-around entertaining. Craven knows what he's doing here and doesn't disappoint.

 

        SUMMER OF FEAR is one of the best known made-for-TV thrillers of the 1970's and 80's, and there's plenty of reasons why. Check it out, kids.