Sunday, June 21, 2009

Flowers in the Attic(1987)


This movie is based on the best selling novel series written by Virginia Andrews. The books were controversial because of the incestuous relationship portrayed in them, but I have read them all and I loved them. The movie really cuts out a lot of important content from the book, but that's what happens sometimes, I guess. It stars Victoria Tennant, Louise Fletcher and Kristy Swanson.
If you have read the books, then you will know the story, but I will explain for those who haven't had the pleasure of reading them. The Dollengangers are a happy family. There are four kids who love their mom and dad and they are arranging a birthday surprise party for the dad when there is a knock on the door. It is a policeman who tells the mother, Corinne(Victoria Tennant), that the dad, Christopher has died in an accident. She is devastated as are the kids. They have to move out of their house and go to Corinne's mother's house. Olivia Foxworth(Louise Fletcher) is Corinne's mother and she is a very pious and mean person. She has no compassion or sympathy for the family. She looks on the children as vermin. They have to go to a separate wing of the house so that their grandfather won't see them. They are taken to a room and they are told that they have to stay in there and not make noise etc.

The kids are Chris(Jeb Stuart Adams) the eldest, next is Cathy(Kristy Swanson), then the twins, Cory(Ben Ryan Ganger) and Carrie(Lindsay Parker). The kids are scared of the grandmother and their own mother seems scared too. She has to pay for her 'mistakes' as the grandmother calls it. She needs to make up with the grandfather before he dies so she can get his money. The grandmother is there to make sure that she does. As Corinne comes to see the children less and less, they discover the attic. They dress up and play with stuff that they find at first. They have a lot of fun etc at the beginning but after a while, they want to leave. They long for some fresh air and exercise and when Cory gets very sick, they realise that someone put poison on their food. Cory dies and they are very angry and hurt. They blame the grandmother for putting the poison in their food, but it isn't her.
They discover that the grandfather died a while ago and that Corinne is trying to get rid of them one by one. She has been putting the poison in their food. She has a fiancee and she is getting married and her beau knows nothing of the children from her previous marriage. She doesn't want them any longer. She has been trying to kill them off so she can start a new life with her new husband.They escape and ruin her wedding day by telling everyone the truth. She is evil and she ends up dead.

The book ended differently, but the movie is still good. I liked it despite a lot of changes from the novel. It was entertaining anyway. I am giving this a 9/10.

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