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:

Julia came to live with the Bryants. She claimed to be their cousin ...

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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: I like my hair this way. Mike does, too. So does your father.
Rachel Bryant: Well I can't stand a thing about you, and that includes your hair!
Julia: How rude.

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Connections

Featured in Svengoolie: Stranger in Our House (1998)

User Reviews

BEWARE THE BOX! SUMMER OF FEAR is a re-packaged '70s TV movie

For swhile it was hard getting a copy of the Tv movie that goes by two titles: SUMMER OF FEAR and STRANGER IN OUR HOUSE. Then recently they repackaged it. The box boasts that it is drirected by WES CRAVEN, maker of SCREAM and NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and that it stars Linda Blair. These are all true facts. However this is not a new release,but a 1978 TV movie re-packaged. Im sure many people will pick this movie up and be sorely dissappointed! Well,Im one of those rare few that actually enjoy TV movies AND Linda Blair (two faves are BORN INNOCENT, and SARAH T PORTAIT OF A TEENAGE ALCOHOLIC). this one isnt as good as those two, but still amusing. For some odd reason, Linda is the GOOd girl in this one. She's a fresh-faced bad-permed country girl who enjoys riding horses. One day she finds that distant relatibves have died in a car crash and that her long-lost cousin Julia is coming to stay with her family. Of course when innocent young thing Julia arrives we know that sooner or later she will become a usurperer trying to take over Linda's life. She goes to the mall with Linda and friend Fran Drescher(!) and gets an almost-identiacl perm and similar outfir and purse as Linda! She quickly makes friends with Linda's best friend and fella(who she promptly steals!) The only one who isnt "enchanted" by her is Linda's horse, and he gets his just deserts via a strange voodoo device that looks strangely like a sex toy). Soon Linda is finding strange things around the house and puttin together the pieces that Cousin might be a dabbler in black magic. Of course no one in the family believes her and lables her "jealous", which gives Linda a chance to whine and whine and say "Ya gotta believe me!" Her mother tells her to get "That filth" out of her mind! There are no real big scares or surprises, but the showdown cat-fight at the end is pretty good. The villainous turns into an over-the-top glareing-eyed demon woman at the end and its a real treat. I know alot of people will think I'm crazy for giving this flick a forgiving,somewhat GOOD review, but keep in mind I LIKE this stuff, and if you do too check this out as well as Melissa Sue Andersons MIDNIGHT OFFERINGS.(p.s: if you were Linda wouldnt you have thrown her out when she stole your boyfriend?????)