Blu-ray Review: Flowers in the Attic (1987)

November 20, 2019

Written by DanXIII

Daniel XIII; the result of an arcane ritual involving a King Diamond album, a box of Count Chocula, and a copy of Swank magazine, is a screenwriter, director, producer, actor, artist, and reviewer of fright flicks…Who hates ya baby?

After the death of the family patriarch, teens Chris (Jeb Stuart Adams) and Cathy (Kristy Swanson), along with their twin siblings Cory (Ben Ryan Ganger) and Carrie (Lindsay Parker) are shuffled off to their elderly (and totally loaded) grandparents by their mother Corrine (Victoria Tennant).

Once there, Corrine’s mega-bitch of a Bible-thumpin’ mother Olivia (Louise Fletcher) demands the children be kept in a locked room so that her husband never know of their existence. Why is she so riled up? Well it seems that Corrine’s husband was her uncle, and those kiddos are straight up the byproduct of that ol’ family fav; incest!

As Corrine suffers her mother’s punishments in order to fall back into the family good graces and inherit some serious coin; the kids explore the one place the have access to from their pseudo-prison; the attic… which they turn into a sanctuary of sorts.

As the time passes, our young heroes see less and less of Mommy Dearest as Olivia’s rule becomes ever more draconian… involuntary hair styling, suspected poisonings, and forced vampirism ensue. Will our youthful protagonists have what it takes to survive this rather unseemly family reunion?

Let me tell you cats n’ creeps; while Flowers in the Attic is set in the “present day”, this is pure Gothic thriller territory through and through! You got the old dark house, the innocents in peril, the grim family secrets… hell there’s even a secret passage thrown in to hammer it all home.

Of course along with all of that tried and true horror biz action this tale also turns up the squick with the incest elements and horrendous child abuse… which just adds to the unease of the viewer, and makes the picture that much more effective as a fright flick. But, all is not terror in this tale as the film has a real fairy tale vibe going on as well with the mansion being a castle surrogate and Olivia taking on the wicked step-mother bag full force.

Speaking of Olivia, Fletcher eats that role-up with gusto and commands the viewers attention every time she appears in her black Victorian dress and ever sneering visage. And while Fletcher was by far the centerpiece of the film for me, the rest of the cast does a solid job as well (and here’s to child actors that didn’t annoy the shit out of me)!

Speaking of solid, this Arrow Video Blu-ray is filled to the rafters with quality bonus material as well! First up we get another in a long line of ultra-informative and insightful audio commentary courtesy of Diabolique Magazine’s Kat Ellinger that examines the merits of Flowers in the Attic, it’s deviations from V.C. Andrews’ original novel, Gothic tropes, and much more!

Following that we have interviews with cinematographer Frank Byers, production designer John Muto, Adams, and composer Christopher Young. Also included are the film’s original ending taken from a rough-cut of the picture, and the reshot ending by Tony Kaden (which features commentary), a production gallery, and the film’s trailer.

Full of atmosphere, disturbing concepts, and Gothic thriller goodness, Flowers in the Attic is a sinister tale, well told and will be a devious delight for those that dig on freaky family dynamics in their fright flicks!

 

 

 

 

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