Note: MOtW stands for Movie of the Week. This is the first of a new feature in 2022. I will be sharing movies of interest that I think you all will like as well. When possible, I will provide links where you can watch the movie online.
Description
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.
Commentary
Directed by Wes Craven and starring Linda Blair, Stranger in Our House is based on the novel Summer of Fear by prolific writer Lois Duncan who is probably best known for writing I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Other notable actors who appear in the movie include Mcdonald Carey of Days of Our Lives Fame, Fran Drescher in her first movie, and Jeff East who played teenage Clark Kent in the big budget Superman Film.
There are a couple of differences between the book and the movie. Mostly notably, Trickle was a dog in the book, however, due to Linda Blair's love of horses, Trickle was changed to a horse.
The movie (and book) gives us a look into Appalachian Folk Magic and beliefs. In one scene a character drops a knife at the table and Cousin Julia remarks that a male visitor will be coming. A few moments later a male neighbor boy stops by. In other instances, Linda Blair's characters find a photograph of herself covered in red blotches after she had spent several days suffering from a sudden rash. Finally, we also see evidence of a death ritual that the witch had performed.
All in all this is a light horror movie with an interesting take on witchcraft and a final twist that the audience doesn't see coming.
- Carolina Dean
No comments:
Post a Comment