Night Kill - Eine tödliche Bedrohung

SUMMER OF FEAR started out as a 1978 made-for-TV movie, directed by LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT's Wes Craven and starring THE EXORCIST actress Linda Blair. Noting that it had performed surprisingly well in the schedules, the producers repackaged it as a theatrical movie, retitled it SUMMER OF FEAR, and released it in Europe.

How much you enjoy this one depends on your preference for American TV movies of the 1970s. I consider myself a huge fan, so I enjoyed this one, although the histrionic acting and cheesily dated nature of the production may be offputting to some; they were positives for me. The storyline is a straightforward 'cuckoo in the nest' type one, in which spoilt rich girl Linda Blair is put out of joint when her cousin joins the family after her parents are killed in a car accident.

It soon transpires that said cousin has been dabbling in witchcraft, something confirmed by a put-upon college professor (a welcome role for SHADOW OF A DOUBT's Macdonald Carey). It's one of those films where nobody believes Blair's character, forcing her to take matters into her own hands. You can hardly blame them: dressing in the frumpiest clothes imaginable and saddled with an appalling 'Afro' haircut, the Blair looks like an eyesore here and her character's a real whiner.

The supernatural elements of the narrative are limited, but there's some good stuff with spooked horses and an action-packed climax that involves car chases and cat-fights, all well handled on a low budget. The twist ending was inevitable after the release of CARRIE. Watch out for some SALEM'S LOT-style effects involving cool contact lenses. SUMMER OF FEAR may not be a great film but it sure is a fun one.

This 1978 TV movie, Wes Craven's third horror, was based on a novel by Lois Duncan ("I Know What You Did Last Summer"). Although it's predictable, Linda Blair is a charm and the whole atmosphere quite cozy, making it worth watching.

After Wes Craven made the groundbreaking "Last House on the Left" and "Hills Have Eyes", he fell into a bit of a rut before finally finding his footing again with the 1984 classic "A Nightmare on Elm Street". "Summer of Fear", the film I will be looking at today, is Wes Craven's third directorial effort. It's an ambitious effort to say the least but how well does a made for TV horror movie stand up 30 years last?

The story is about a girl, Rachel Bryant (Linda Blair), who lives with her wealthy family in a nice house in the hills of Northern California. After her mother's sister, brother-in-law, and housekeeper die in a horrible car crash, the couple's daughter, Julia (Lee Purcell) comes to live with them. Julia seems a little shy if anything, but as time goes on, she begins to put an alluring spell over everyone she meets, pulling all of Rachel's family and friends away from her. After finding some odd things that belong to Julia (including a human tooth and burnt hair from Rachel's dog Trickle (for the movie the dog was changed to a horse due to Blair's love of horses and the name of the horse was Sundance instead of Trickle), Rachel begins to suspect that her cousin may be a practitioner of witchcraft, and she's hell-bent on turning Rachel's life upside down. Her open disbelieved suspicions caused her to become an outcast in front of her family.

Ahh..."Summer of Fear," what a strange movie. Wes directed this voodoo/jealously movie for ABC in the summer of 1978. Well, like I said it's a very, very weird movie. The plot has something to do with this evil girl from the south that is sent to live with Linda Blair and her family after her parents die in a car accident. Of course, she's the "cousin" that no one in the family has seen in years and that no one really seems to remember. I know, I know...predictable...but try to follow me. After she is sent to live with Linda, all hell breaks loose as this evil girl tries to take over Linda's body or something (this is never really made clear). The special effects are corny, the editing choppy, and the acting is mediocre at best (wait till you see Fran "The Nanny" Dresher as Linda Blair's nasally best friend) and yet I still kinda enjoyed this picture. It's solid, fun, campy horror that never takes itself seriously. Go into it expecting a run-of-the-mill teenage made-for-TV movie and I think you may be pleasantly surprised.

Lois Duncan's young-adult mystery novel "Summer of Fear" gets a fine, if low-budget, television treatment, capably directed by Wes Craven. Intriguing story features an appealing Linda Blair playing popular young woman and horse-rider whose family takes in her orphaned cousin--a perplexing girl who harbors secret evil powers. Craven's pacing is careful and sneaky, drawing the viewer in while mounting Blair's suspicions with just the right touch of creepy delicacy. Lee Purcell is excellent as cousin Julia, pulling off a showy role without lapsing into camp (although the make-up and special effects near the finish are somewhat cartoonish by today's standards). A compact thriller, very well done, and Blair--as always--is charming and makes her character easily identifiable to viewers.

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

One has to go into this film with the right mindset. The idea of Linda Blair being directed by Wes Craven is enticing, but do not put your hopes too high. This is the brainchild of Max A. Keller, who wrote the script, produced it, and put his daughter Nicole in the cast. Being made for TV, Craven was shackled by producers, the network and a very limited budget.

That being said, this is actually a rather decent story. Some plot elements are a tad confusing. As revelations come out in the second half, not all of them make complete sense. And even the idea of a professor who specializes in witchcraft is strange, not to mention his living across the street.

But overall this is alright for what it is. Definitely worth checking out, especially for Craven completists. It may not be his best work, but I can safely say it is not his worst.