5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
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.
Starring: Linda Blair, Lee Purcell (I), Jeff East, Fran Drescher, Jeff McCrackenHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 9% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
The untimely passing of Wes Craven in 2015 deprived the film world of one of its most unique voices in the annals of horror, and especially in the annals of horror tinged with a certain amount of black comedy. Craven was still a relative newcomer when he helmed Summer of Fear in 1978 for television (it was evidently originally broadcast under the title Stranger in Our House). As Linda Blair mentions (repeatedly) in the new interview included on this Blu-ray as a supplement, the bean counters behind the project thought that the “combo platter” of Craven and Blair would be enough to spark interest, which it apparently did, though probably even ardent fans of the director and/or the actress would be hard pressed to assess Summer of Fear as anything other than a middling made for tv movie. While an archival commentary with Craven, also included on this release, alludes to some cinematic inspirations, I think most objective viewers would be similarly hard pressed to find the same sort of subtle paranoia that, say, Roman Polanski offered in Rosemary's Baby, despite the same general premise of an “innocent bystander” getting swept up in the throes of someone practicing that dreaded old black magic. Part of the problem with Summer of Fear is that it pretty much gives away the entire conceit with imagery (as hazy as it is) underneath the opening credits, which seems to clearly show a woman possessed by something demonic.
Summer of Fear is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Doppelganger Films, Music Box Films' horror imprint, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.36:1. While I'm sure fans of this made for television film will be generally thrilled with its upgrade to high definition, it's evident that no real restoration was done here, and there is an above average amount of flecks, specks, scratches and the like. While I suspect that this had to do with edits that were imposed on the film, there are also a few moments that look sourced from decidedly inferior and secondary elements. One notable one occurs at around the 32 minute mark, where suddenly contrast goes wonky, the picture is markedly more fuzzy and grain also spikes (see screenshot 19), and there's noticeable frame wobble and warping. Why this particular snippet was excised at some point is kind of a head scratcher, but one way or the other there's a bit of a heterogeneous appearance here that more demanding videophiles may find occasionally problematic. In the brightly lit outdoor moments (which are plentiful), the palette pops reasonably well (though it seems a bit faded, skewing toward brown), and detail levels are generally very good. Grain looks natural and there are no real compression issues.
Summer of Fear features a serviceable DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track which supports this made for television effort's pretty limited sonic ambitions. Aside from a few effects like car crashes or horses going berserk, the bulk of the film is simply made up of dialogue scenes, which this track renders cleanly and clearly. There's no sign of any age related wear and tear, and while somewhat shallow and narrow sounding, the track delivers all elements without any problems whatsoever.
Summer of Fear is pretty minor Craven by any standard, but completists may well want to check out this release. It's all kind of silly, and it hinges on one spectacularly illogical conceit (without spoiling anything, did no one know the deceased victims and their family?). It's fun to see Blair playing the "normal" one for a change, but the story is kind of listless and nothing ever becomes overly suspenseful or scary. Video encounters a few hurdles, but audio is fine for those considering a purchase.
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