By Geno McGahee
The next flick that I elected to watch in this 20 pack of “horror” movies from Echo Bridge Entertainment was the made for TV film “SUMMER OF FEAR.” It has a title that suggests it could be horror and so it fits the bill. As I said in an earlier review, I paid five dollars for this twenty pack of films. I’m not complaining, and most of the time, made for TV films are usually watchable. That was certainly the case with this one.
Mr. Marshall (Gregory Harrison) was left a beautiful home on a lake by his aunt and he is taking full advantage of it. His work keeps him tied up most of the time but he has decided to take his family to the lake for the summer, but it gets scary quick. As Mr. Marshall is driving, he begins to feel up his wife’s, Cat’s (Glynnis O’Connor), leg as the two kids sleep. Right when he was about to get to third base, he looks at the road and sees a body lying there. He swerves and stops. He and the family are quickly pulled out by two thugs with rape on their minds. Luckily for the family, Simon (Corin Nemec), shows up and scares them off, saving the day. It sets the tone for the vacation, putting Mr. Marshall on edge for the remainder.
Simon resurfaces as the family goes into town and they welcome him back to the house, but now he won’t leave. Mr. Marshall gets incredibly concerned as Simon takes his young daughter, Haley (Natalie Shaw), out on the lake in a boat. The two hit it off and Simon forces his way into the family even more by becoming a role model for the young Zack (David Gallagher). Although he seems too good to be true, Mr. Marshall has some bad feelings about Simon. The only one on the same page is former love interest and housekeeper, Winnie (Lee Garlington). I don’t know why Cat put up with that flirty chick in the house around her husband. I also don’t know what was up with the hairstyle of Winnie. The short haircut and mom jeans didn’t help her chances of getting her man back from Cat, who was attractive and had style.
Simon convinces the family to let him move in temporarily to work around the house. Mr. Marshall reluctantly agrees. Sexual tension arises between Cat and Simon and it almost turns into some action in the boathouse, but she pulls away. When she asks him to leave, he refuses, unless Mr. Marshall asks him to go. When he eventually does, Simon goes on the attack and the truth is revealed.
SUMMER OF FEAR is pretty good. It’s another one of those TV movies that are decent but are restricted because they were shown on television. There really is no edge here, but the cast is very good. Corin Nemec played the role of Simon incredibly well. I really disliked him throughout the entire movie and I rooted for him at the end. I also really liked the performance of Glynnis O’Connor. She was very genuine in this and you could see her struggle. She was having marital problems but didn’t want the marriage to end. She was lonely and that all came out in very subtle and not so subtle ways in this.
The ending twist is rather predictable but it still leads to a very nice scene and climax to this film. I really enjoyed the ending and the way that Mr. Marshall’s character really came together, leaving hope for his marriage and his family and Simon as well. There are a lot of films like SUMMER OF FEAR and most of them are better films, but this one is still rather good. I recommend it.
Rating: 6/10
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