Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

An action-packed slog

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Poorly acted piece of garbage! Don't waste your time!

In lieu of the upcoming conclusion to the Dollanganger series, I decided to revisit the first two films in this lovely series. Keep in mind that I have not read the books, nor do I plan to in the immediate future. Ready? Begin.FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, the first film in the series, follows four siblings and their mother as they are forced to stay with their evil grandmother after the death of their father. Once they get to Foxworth Hall, they soon realize all is not as it appeared, for once they get there, they are locked up in the attic, and that's when the film gets good.Let me say right off the bat, I knew going in that there would be incestous elements to the story. That didn't bother me that much, because I'm not as grossed out by the weird stuff as some people are (and believe me, those people would HATE this movie). I think the film did it well, to be honest. It was done in a way that it didn't overshadow the movie, and it was somewhat tasteful.The best performance definitely came from Ellen Burstyn, and there is no question that she did a fantastic job as the evil grandmother. I won't spoil it, but her performance during a climatic scene is very well done. The other performances are pretty good as well, Heather Graham does a good job as Corrine, the mother who does some pretty nasty stuff while they're at the home.The kids do good as well, but the standouts are definitely the characters of Christopher and Cathy, played by Mason Dye and Kiernan Shipka. They both own their roles and really try their best to sell you on the fact that they are two siblings that suddenly have romantic attraction to each other.I loved the atmosphere of the film and it was shot very beautifully. It's a great looking film, one I would love to see on something like Blu-Ray. However, every rose has it's thorn, and there are a few things I didn't like in this movie.For one thing, the plot didn't really make sense at times. I won't spoil it, but something is revealed about why Corrine went there in the first place, and one of the key players in that dies, and the kids don't know about it. Now, don't get me wrong, it's plausible that they could stay in the attic, but wouldn't people hear their footsteps?Other than that, and some minor inconsistencies and dialogue screw- ups, the film was pretty decent, especially for a Lifetime movie. I'd watch it again, if I was bored on a weekend. 7/10.

As I just finished the book I just had to watch the film, which was to my disappointment. Here is why:It was way too short, especially the development of the relationship between Cathy and Chris, as well as the growing distance between the children and their mother. Very important details were missing for example, the movie didn't portray the attachment of Corrie and Carrie to each other, the grandmother wasn't as evil as in the books, etc. I also feel like there were many mistakes in the movie that made it less realistic, e.g. Cathys hair didn't grow after the cut as well as Chris' hair, which seemed always as if he just went to the hairdresser and generally, you couldn't tell that two years have passed if they wouldn't have shown the calendar. Of course a few things were changed such as John seeing them outside when they were escaping, etc. What made the book so special is the well-described development of the relationships of the main characters over the course of three years, which the movie is clearly missing. Another point would be that the characters were'nt developed at all! Sure, Cathys stubbornness was shown, but their hobbies and interests, the way they talk to each other was totally missing! Corries musical talent, Cathys dancing and Chris' obsession with being a doctor, them reading all of these books, and so on. Comparing the desprictions of the book to the movie, the house in general and especially the attic and Corinne's room seemed not as gigantic and unbelievable, which made the movie - again- less special and rather boring. To be honest, I didn't like the acting either, it seemed very stiff to me.I think the movie makers didn't interpret the book as grand as I did, hence my disappointment. Luckily I read the book first, because if I did otherwise, Im sure I wouldn't have read it based on my impressions of that movie!!

I believe I have seen the original Flowers In The Attic film but its been years! Its been even longer since I read the book. However, I know the story well and it is truly a brilliant and gripping story with underlying tones of incest, abuse and religious fanaticism. I think the story is due for a re-telling and under the right direction and writing should be a stone cold success. Lifetime decided they could do it and you know I won't lie...the film is watchable. Somehow I found it gripping enough to stay with it and I didn't hate it. Some reviewers have called it "watered down" and I think that's a huge understatement. It is very watered down and still covers some very taboo areas but the performances, nearly all of them, are so cheesy and "Little Theater"-esque that its hard to say the film "good" necessarily. I think its just the original story that makes this so watchable. VC Andrews was a brilliant writer and its easy to become enamoured with her stories. The film goes from a story about children being held captive to a Blue Lagoon type romance between brother and sister that is simply hard to believe or accept. This rendition of the story is full of holes that make little sense and they do nothing to paint over.I will start with Heather Graham who I have always been sort of indifferent towards. She is a decent actress that I've never really liked nor disliked. Honestly, she's sort of awful in this. She seems ridiculous and delivers her lines with such excruciating blandness that she literally is laughable in a very dark, serious film. Not to be outdone, I'm afraid to say the older children are not much better. Kiernan Shipka and Mason Dye have some good scenes (and believe me it gets awkward) but they just seem so stiff and cheesy in their line delivery. I don't suppose its a great script but they don't do anything with it that's for certain. The only thing I can say is that they're campy performances make the entire film seem even more awkward which actually works in the favour of making this more watchable. Odd but true. Ava Telek and Maxwell Kovach are actually pretty good in small roles as the younger siblings. Thankfully they always manage to keep them out of the more awkward and abusive scenes. Ellen Burstyn should really be the saving grace to this film. She is a legend and I will say she easily gives the best performance but that isn't saying much amongst this cast. I actually found they underused Burstyn in a lot of ways but she definitely gives an edge to the role but I still think it could have been more.There is so much content here to this story and I think Lifetime spent FAR too much time focusing on the incestuous relationship between Chris and Cathy. I know they were purposely trying to be shocking and water cooler type viewing but it stumbles and misses the mark with so many other great things in this story. The musical score for the film is really good, haunting and noticeable and drives the story forward. The redeeming qualities of this film are not unnoticed. Towards the end there is a lot of emotion, the campier performances get slightly better and some of that original story that rips your heart out is certainly present. At times I thought this would be a total laughable write off and then I would find myself being shocked and on the edge of my seat. Somehow, they pull it off but the missed potential should not go unmentioned. I think its good they got a woman director, Deborah Chow, but someone with more experience would have helmed a much better film. There are a lot of unanswered plot holes, and things they rush over far too quickly but it is what it is and this is what we have. I'm actually anxious to go back and watch the original film now. And to prove this wasn't a total write off...for some unknown reason I was pleased to hear Lifetime was doing the sequel film in a month or so. Maybe this film will find a place in cult history after all. 7/10