Flowers in the Attic

1987 "Home sweet home is murder."
5.7| 1h33m| R| en| More Info
Released: 20 November 1987 Released
Producted By: Fries Entertainment Films
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

After the death of her husband, a mother takes her kids off to live with their grandparents in a huge, decrepit old mansion. However, the kids are kept hidden in a room just below the attic, visited only by their mother who becomes less and less concerned about them and their failing health, and more concerned about herself and the inheritence she plans to win back from her dying father.

... View More
Stream Online

Stream with Prime Video

Director

Producted By

Fries Entertainment Films

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Images

Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Alicia I love this movie so much
GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.
Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
Scott Amundsen Translating novels to the screen is a tricky business; most authors have been mistreated in one way or another by Hollywood, with the possible exception of Ira Levin, whose film adaptations are usually eerily close to the books.V C Andrews's first novel, FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, notorious for its theme of incest, comes to the screen limping with half broken legs. One of the novel's major themes is incest. The Dollenganger family are the product of a vaguely incestuous union (Mother married her father's much younger half-brother), and during their imprisonment in the attic, the older brother and sister actually have sex once, but in the book this all has its own peculiar logic and actually makes sense.Director Jeffrey Bloom and the production team backed off of the incest; the mother's marriage is mentioned once and the two older siblings have a closeness that is vaguely suggestive but otherwise the theme of incest is never really developed.At the beginning of the film we meet the Dollanganger family: Mom Corinne (Victoria Tennant), father Christopher (Marshall Colt), and their four children: Christopher (Jeb Stuart Adams), Catherine (Kristy Swanson), and the twins Cory (Ben Ryan Ganger) and Carrie (Lindsay Parker). They are a close family; almost too close, but their world is shattered when the father is killed in an automobile accident.Mother, grief-stricken, is unable to cope with life, and eventually they find themselves penniless and on the street, so Mother decides to take the children to the home of her parents, grandparents the children have never seen. On the way there, Mother reveals that her father disinherited her for something she did years ago, and this "pilgrimage" is a mission to win back his love and reenter his good graces.We finally arrive at the Foxworth Mansion and are greeted by Grandmother, played by none other than Louise Fletcher. Fletcher is great here, as she always is when she plays a type of evil woman who wields power, but I did find myself thinking the poor woman should have had a word with her agent; ever since the 1976 Oscars Fletcher had been playing variations on the Nurse Ratched theme. But no matter. No one did it better than she.The other actors were savaged by the critics, but I thought they were quite good. Victoria Tennant and Kristy Swanson, who both took a major shellacking in the reviews, deliver in fact the two performances (along with Fletcher's) that drive the narrative forward. In fact, all four of the kids deliver fine work. No, the actors are not the problem; they work hard and are mostly effective. What cobbles them is an extremely awkward script; people simply do not speak the way these kids do most of the time (Cathy has a habit of constantly repeating her older brother's name, for example). And Tennant as their mother comes across as stilted and stiff most of the time, though this may be her way of indicating that Corinne is under the spell of her mother. Only Fletcher seems to have the gift of flinging about the rather purple dialogue; her character is a religious fanatic, half Nurse Ratched and half Margaret White from CARRIE, and she has a field day with her role.In the end, it is Kristy Swanson's Cathy who proves to be her grandmother's (AND mother's) nemesis. Swanson is fierce despite the awkwardness of some of what she has to say, and all four of the kids make a believable family.I am not going to reveal the plot. It's something that should be experienced. Some will probably hate it, but I was most impressed. They ripped half the guts out of what was a truly excellent book in the Gothic tradition, yet still managed to produce something eerie and frightening. In spite of what the film lacks, they managed to give it a somber and creepy mood that is not only impressive but hard to forget.But if you see the film, do read the novel as well; it's great.
oprlvr33 I too was a huge V.C. Andrew's series fan, during its day. It was fascinating to read such intensive, dark, and emasculating drama about an incestuous family's dysfunctional journey through future generations.However this film adaption is far from the book series' justice. Only Louise Fletcher as the cruel grandmother, delivers any real or decent performance. Now I've always liked Kristy Swanson during her teen years, in the many TV movies and smaller roles she's played, and Jeb Stuart pulled off some decent supporting roles himself, in some classic 80's teen movies. However, direction did not pull much justice of intensity for either one of their characters in this. At times their Chris and Cathy's are plain flat or just whiny. And their 'interaction' with the mother, also falls flat.And Victoria Tennant. Get me started on her. The former Mrs. Steve Martin (Yes, the famous comic actor who seasoned during SNL) is as bad or flat an actress is bad-acting can nose-dive. She always was noted as mediocre. And here, she is less than such. Barely believable as Corrine, in spite any proper direction she was allotted during shoot. Mostly she was down right boring, especially the attic scenes.Jeffrey Bloom's overall direction is just okay. Only Oscar-winner Louise Fletcher delivers any such notable performance.
RavenGlamDVDCollector Currently watching this one. Half-way through. Let me just shout out that (a) this movie looks more than great even in this day and age, it has stood the test of time extremely well; (b) Kristy Swanson WOW!!Years ago, after seeing DEADLY FRIEND at the local drive-in theater, I wanted to see more of Kristy Swanson. I suppose it was the back of the VHS box that told me about FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC but there was no way I could find it - it still being The Dark Ages way back then in the late Eighties, think VCR and VHS. What cave-dwellers we were! Years go by, become decades, and DVD and online ordering brings some of that much vaunted space-age power my way, and last night I finally had FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC on my big screen.It is every bit worth the wait! My little heroine is every bit breathtakingly heartbreakingly deliriously beautiful, and the story is more than watchable, although I find it implausible that the four children would have stayed captive up there, they'd have easily gotten past that mean old witch and her nasty sour- faced old butler, I mean, youth would win out every time. Okay, time for me to go watch further...(I haven't read the book. I won't argue the cases of fans of the book, I myself know of movies that fell far short in comparison to the original book, and have posted such reviews as well. My interest lie however in actress Kristy Swanson, and I think she's just the most wonderful little thing in this movie)Addendum, 26 April 2015. ***SPOILER ALERT*** Unfortunately the second half of the movie is a total shambles. At the end, the whole movie is discredited with that weakly staged fall from the balcony. Gee, she practically walks over to the balcony and offers to be thrown over. No. Also, they wear those hideous deathly pallor makeup but remain moving fluently, they don't act sick and weak. And if Mother needed to get rid of them, why toy with them? Why the drawn- out fuss? Weakest link is Grandmother, who has a menacing presence in the first half, but shows petty jealousy and quenches her envy by cutting off most of Cathy's long hair. The hatred the old has for the young... Rest of the second half, Grandmother is oddly ineffectual, and Kristy is not entirely convincing in her vengeful mode. Nice try, but needed more practice. A promising set-up that was off to a good start but got a whole lot off track. I am not going to blast it, though. But the prose I wrote last week, was directed at the first half. I do understand that the story had to turn nasty, but the points I make are totally valid, and the script turned into a sinking ship. Gee, the haters are high-fiving themselves, this 'fan' is all of a sudden quite deluded, looking on his nose, the Home Team lost in the second half. No, haters! The movie is so promising in the first half that I would be focusing on that.By the way, towards the end of these compiled reviews, you'll find one by 'blackfirestars'. I have a bone to pick with this 'author' and the many unwarranted comments. I will not even allude to them here, except for one: Suggesting that Cathy was masturbating in the bath. Wishful thinking on your part? Look, I myself admit to being naughtily inclined, but I would refrain from insinuating anything that cannot be proved. Cathy was daydreaming in the bath, as she was lifting her leg out of the water she is clearly thinking about being a ballerina. The title of 'blackfirestars' review is beneath contempt, I dearly wish to address it here, but it seems I might only give credibility to that dark comment if I protest it. An interesting viewing experience. Must say that the experience here at IMDb marred it more than just a bit. Would be interesting to see the remake. One day...
Linda Scott Flowers In The Attic could have been a great film, unfortunately it had several problems. First, is that it was written to be an x rated film, or an r....It was shot as an r rating. Then the producers fumbled around and cut the best footage out to release this to a general audience, leaving everybody confused. The writer was so upset, she wrote a scathing letter to producer Sy Levin. The second problem is that Sy Levin was involved. Sy no longer can show his face in Hollywood. He was a friend of O.J. Simpson's and was cut of the same cloth as O.J., his friends were involved in the distribution of hard drugs, and had bragged to me about how much fun it was to stab somebody... Sy was interested in producing the O.J. Simpson court documentary that would prove he was innocent. Meanwhile, I was threatened by them, and had to call the police hot line to save my life. Sy's friends got 25 to life for their other crimes, Sy always gets off without charges, but can no longer show his face in Hollywood. It's a shame that the best footage of some fine actors went on the cutting room floor. Gus Peters gave an excellent performance. This film should be re-edited as an x, although the footage is probably lost forever. I would look forward to the sequel, perhaps Fries can do it properly now that Sy Levin is no longer associated with anybody, and can no longer destroy anybody's life.

Similar Movies to Flowers in the Attic