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.

Wes Craven's directorial career was erratic, to say the least. After the success of low-budget shockers The Last House on The Left and The Hills Have Eyes, Craven opted to pay the bills by working on this made-for-TV chiller starring a podgy Linda Blair. Bound by broadcasting regulations, the result is a tepid and predictable affair, lacking the imagination and visceral impact of the director's previous horror films.

Blair stars as teenager Rachel Bryant, whose idyllic life gradually turns into a nightmare after her pretty cousin Julia (Lee Purcell) moves into her home, her own parents having accidentally driven off the edge of a cliff. It's not long before Julia has stolen Rachel's boyfriend Mike (Jeff McCracken),who is happy to trade up, and causes further trouble by flirting with Rachel's dad (Jeremy Slate). To add insult to injury, Julia also starts to hang out with Rachel's best friend Carolyn (Fran Drescher). So when Rachel discovers that Julia might be a witch and voices her suspicions, everyone assumes it's just a case of petty jealousy. How wrong can they be?

As things unfold exactly as you imagine they will, Craven delivers a few scenes of 'mild peril' but nothing truly scary (although Blair's huge hair, the sight of the dumpy actress crammed into a nasty pink dress, and Fran Drescher's voice are somewhat disturbing). Purcell steals the show with her 'good girl/bad girl' routine, looking lovely throughout, and going full-on evil at the end with a maniacal grin and devilish contact lenses. As if all that had gone before wasn't predictable enough, the film closes with one of those silly endings that shows that the nightmare isn't over yet. Yawn.

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.