Summer of Fear

 

 Credit it to talent or dumb luck, only a small minority of child stars are fortunate enough to transition from the precocious years, through the awkward adolescent stage, to become working adult actors. Most child stars never make the full transition, but a lot do manage to crank out some unintentionally hilarious work during their declining post-pubescent years. Case in point, LINDA BLAIR's star turn in WES CRAVEN's 1978 made-for-TV movie SUMMER OF FEAR. With her round face framed in a bad perm ripped off the head of MISS PIGGY, BLAIR plays Rachel Bryant, your typical late '70s teen, who's into horses named Sundance and making ill-fitting dresses for the upcoming dance. Rachel's perm becomes more frazzled when cousin Julia from the Ozarks comes to spend the summer following the death of her family. Seemingly plain Julia appears nice and all at first; but when Rachel breaks out with a mysterious case of facial herpes, it doesn't take Julia too long to steal her man and look better in the moo-moo dress Rachel had spent so much time sewing. While the rest of the family is taken by Julia's charm, pox-marked Rachel is not buying her Cracker Barrel routine. After she finds a dildo-shaped voodoo doll made of her horse's hair in Julia's drawer, Rachel consults the next-door neighbor who just happens to be an "expert in the occult," and he confirms her suspicions that Julia is indeed a bitch witch. Sadly, no one listens to Rachel's claims, and Julia manages to off the horse, seduce the father, and cut the brakes in the mother's car during the chilling mountain-side climax.

INDELIBLE SCENE(S):

• Sundance the horse freaking out at Rachel's big show
• Rachel's speedy transformation from awkward teen stage to full-blown Garbage Pail Kid face
• Julia seducing the father
• Rachel and Julia's throwdown in the darkroom
• Julia's bewitching color contacts