Stranger in Our House (TV 1978)

A teenage girl's life is turned upside down after her cousin moves into her house, and as time goes by, she begins to suspect that she may be a practitioner of witchcraft.

Director:

Wes Craven

Writers:

Glenn M. Benest (teleplay), Lois Duncan (novel),

Stars:

Linda Blair, Lee Purcell, Jeremy Slate

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Linda Blair	...	Rachel Bryant
Lee Purcell	...	Julia Trent
Jeremy Slate	...	Tom Bryant
Jeff McCracken	...	Mike Gallagher
Jeff East	...	Peter Bryant
Carol Lawrence	...	Leslie Bryant
Macdonald Carey	...	Professor Jarvis
Fran Drescher	...	Carolyn Baker
James Jarnigan	...	Bobby Bryant (as James Jarnagin)
Kerry Arquette	...	Anne
Sierra Pecheur	...	Nurse Duncan
Billy Beck	...	Sheriff
Patricia Wilson	...	Mrs. Gallagher
Frederick Rule	...	Mailman
Helena Mäkelä	...	Beverly Hills Lady (as Helena Makela)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

witchcraft | demon | sharing bedroom | hives | hairpulling | 

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Taglines:

Tonight, the world premiere of a chilling story of witchcraft, demons and the supernatural!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Summer of Fear

Filming Locations:

Hidden Hills, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Finnegan Associates, Inter Planetary, Interplanetary Pictures Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fran Drescher's TV debut.

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Quotes

Julia: [finds a picture of Rachel's boyfriend Mike] Is he your solid feller?
Rachel Bryant: I guess so...

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Connections

Featured in Deadly Blessing (1981)

User Reviews

Straightforward Craven thriller is not bad - for a TV movie

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. But one look at Linda's hair will convince you that it was NOT ahead of its time in other areas. In short, rent it but don't buy it. (**)