DVD Review: Summer Of Fear

Down A Dark Hall was the book that turned me on to author Lois Duncan when I was in fifth grade. But Summer Of Fear was my favorite. I watched the made-for-television film when it was re-broadcast (I was too young the first time around, in 1978), though then under the title Stranger In Our House. While I don’t think I realized it had been directed by the same guy that made Last House On The Left (yes, I saw that movie when I was quite young), I certainly realized it starred the same girl that was in The Exorcist, and that was part of the film’s appeal. But the larger part of the appeal was its suspenseful tone, which felt faithful to the book. And now I’m finally getting another chance to enjoy Wes Craven’s film version of Summer Of Fear, thanks to the new DVD release by Doppelganger Releasing and Music Box Films.

Summer Of Fear tells the story of a young woman named Rachel (Linda Blair), whose life is upended by the arrival of her cousin Julia (Lee Purcell) after the sudden deaths of Julia’s parents. Julia is a stranger in her home, as Rachel, her parents and her siblings haven’t seen her in ten years. While they all try to accommodate who they assume is a grief-stricken relative, it isn’t long before Rachel begins to have her doubts about Julia.

Upon her arrival, Julia immediately starts complimenting Rachel on her possessions, running her fingers over the photograph of Rachel’s boyfriend. It could be innocent, but there’s a creepy vibe right from the start, with that shot of her fingers almost caressing the photo, lingering over it, and Rachel has to take the photo away from her. And then Julia lies down on Rachel’s bed, making herself at home, even after verbally turning down Rachel’s offer of that bed. While Rachel’s brother clearly has a crush on his cousin, not everyone is so happy to have the new houseguest. Sundance, Rachel’s horse, attacks her. And when Rachel discovers a human tooth among her cousin’s possessions, she begins to wonder about her. Rachel comes down with a sudden illness, and so has to miss a dance she’d been looking forward to. Julia takes her place, the dress that Rachel made strangely fitting her better than it had fit Rachel. Rachel makes some other discoveries, and it’s not long before she suspects her cousin might be up to no good.

This story is still frightening. The idea of someone taking over your life, your world, while those around you don’t see it is terrifying. Especially when you’re young, and you have no one to turn to, because the source of the horror is in your home, and those people you’d expect to protect you – your parents – deny the problem. This film is quite suspenseful. Also, it features an early performance by Fran Drescher. She plays Rachel’s friend, Carolyn. And there is a stunt with a horse that is still stunning to watch.

Special Features

The DVD includes a commentary track by Wes Craven and executive producer Max Keller. Max talks about how he started the project, and how they needed to have Linda Blair attached to it. That was why they changed the dog in the book to a horse for the film, as Linda Blair was fond of riding. Wes talks about how important this film was in his career, this being the first time he was able to shoot on 35 mm, and this being the film that got him into the Director’s Guild. Max mentions the two different versions of the film – the international theatrical edition is what is on this DVD, with the TV version sporting the other title, Stranger In Our House. It’s actually a really good commentary track, with plenty of interesting anecdotes, like about losing the horse footage on the day of shooting. And of course they discuss that crazy horse stunt. Wes says, “It was not planned for the horse to fall on top of her, but that’s what ended up happening.” Holy moly!

There is also a new interview with Linda Blair, in which she talks about the project, and about the process by which she gets a role. She talks about working with Wes Craven, and about her fellow cast members on this film. She mentions that the slap from Carol Lawrence (who plays her mother in the film) was real. She also talks about that stunt with the horse.

The special features also include a photo gallery and the trailer.

Summer Of Fear was released on October 10,2017 through Doppelganger Releasing and Music Box Films.