Flowers in the Attic

  • Review Date: October 5, 2010
  • PG-13
  • Genre: Drama
  • 1987
Review

Common Sense Media says

Book-turned-movie skips the incest but keeps the creepy.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this creepy thriller focuses on four siblings in a horrible situation, virtually imprisoned by an abusive grandmother in the isolated attic of a huge mansion. There are a few fight scenes that may not seem very violent compared to the shootouts of they typical action film, but they seem more intense because the participants are family members, including young children and an elderly woman. The kids’ feelings of powerlessness and despair could be tough for younger viewers. The movie suggests, but only barely, the themes of incest that were a central element in the popular book upon which this is based. There’s no nudity or sex, but a few scenes show the teenage girl and boy in moments that seem to border on the inappropriate.

  • Positive messages0
    Some people will betray anyone, even those closest to them, if the price is right. A mother must choose between her children and a massive inheritance, and opts to abandon them completely to a terrible fate.
  • Positive role models0
    None of the characters are good role models. A mother chooses money over her children and a grandmother seems to relish abusing her grandchildren. And while the kids are clearly the victims in the film, the teenage brother and sister begin to display amorous feeling for each other, though this element of the story is not developed.
  • Violence2
    A few intense conflicts, including a mother slapping her children, young kids biting and scratching their grandmother, and a teen beating an old woman with a heavy stick. One scene implies that a woman is about to be whipped, and she later reveals that her back is covered with bloody welts.
  • Sex2
    Though there is no sex, the atmosphere is sometimes sexually charged. Four children are confined in a small attic for a lengthy period, and the teenage son and daughter both seem to develop a sexual interest in each other. The son sometimes washes his sister’s back while she bathes, and they exchange longing glances. This incestuous relationship is a key part of the book upon which the film is based, but in the movie it never goes beyond looks, nor is it even explicitly acknowledged.
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What's the story?

Life is nearly perfect for the Dollanger family until the father is killed in a car accident, leaving Corinne (Victoria Tennant) with no means to support herself or her four kids. Desperate for money, she makes a hard decision: return to her family estate, make amends with her estranged, and very wealthy parents, and hope to be reinstated into her dying father’s will. Soon after they arrived to a less-than-enthusiastic welcome, the children are shocked when their grandmother insists they be hidden away in an abandoned attic. Hinting at some long-hidden scandal, the grandmother says her sick husband cannot know they even exist -- ever -- and locks the door behind her, imprisoning the teenage Cathy (Kristy Swanson) and Chris and their much younger twin siblings. Long days in their confined quarters turn into weeks, and then months. And as their mother’s visits become more and more infrequent, their grandmother (Louise Fletcher) becomes more and more abusive and tyrannical.

Is it any good?

 

Based on a popular pulp novel, FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC is a strange bird, despite the story's iconic status. The acting is stiff, the dialog stilted and production values are low. Fans of author V.C. Andrews’ book of the same name may protest. It keeps much of the key details, but eliminates completely the themes that made the book a bestseller. In the book, the teenage Chris and Cathy, confined together for so long as their adolescent hormones surge, develop romantic feelings for each other. This is a novel about forbidden love -- which, of course, was immensely appealing, though disturbing, to readers. The film however, glosses over this, but heightens the cheesy fear factor. It's also a miserable watch: Nothing hopeful happens, really, and in the end, it's hard to maingine what the point really is.The movie comes across as simply about a dysfunctional woman who tortures her grandchildren and her daughter who loses her way. As flowers go, this one's pretty wilted.

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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the impact of money. What do you think of the mother’s decision to trade her kids' freedom for a shot at a big inheritance? Why do people do bad things for money? Have you ever done something you're not proud of in the quest for money?

  • How is the abuse and violence seen in this film different from more violent shoot-em-up action movies? Does one make a deeper impact than the other?

  • How much license do you think a director can take when adapting a
    popular novel for the big screen? Do you think the director went too far
    in this film?

This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
Adult
March 16, 2011
AGE
13
 
Love it as good as the book if u let ur teens watch soaps let them read the book series and watch the movie
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Helped me decide (3) | Had useful details (5) | Read my mind (5)
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Kid, 13 years old
August 10, 2011
AGE
8
 
AWESOME!!!
i read all the V.C Andrews books, theyr all fine, but, some kinda go against women- (surprisingly, most are fine)... if kids are gonna watch the movie, they should read the books first- I suggest the orphan series.
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Helped me decide (5) | Had useful details (4) | Read my mind (3)
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This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
Studio:Starz Media
Director:Jeffrey Bloom
Cast:Kristy Swanson, Louise Fletcher, Victoria Tennant
Genre:Drama
Run time:93 minutes
Theatrical release date:November 20, 1987
DVD release date:April 24, 2001
MPAA rating:PG-13
This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
 

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
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