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If you're a Gen-Xer who read a certain V.C. Andrews novel (and possibly even its sequels) at an age that was maybe much younger than you should've been, let's just say, you're not alone. As I recall, Flowers in the Attic and its twisted, controversial subject matter had some of us in a vice grip for a time, and though the original 1987 movie adaptation wasn't as faithful to the book as it could have been -- sorry, Kristy Swanson -- the 2014 made-for-TV movie adaptation had my attention more than a decade ago when it arrived on Lifetime. That's the book-to-screen adaptation you can now watch with a Netflix subscription.
In fact, Flowers in the Attic ranks #2 among the movies streaming on Netflix right now, falling just short of the top spot due to the popularity of the disturbing new documentary, Maternal Instinct.
Originally published in 1979, V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic centers on four kids whose father dies, and their mother, Corrine, brings them to her estranged parents' wealthy mansion to live, in the hopes of regaining her inheritance.
Chris is 14, Cathy is 12, and the twins are 4 when they arrive at Foxworth Hall. While Mom's downstairs trying to win over the hearts of her wealthy, aging father and stern, devout mother, the kids are being kept a secret from their grandfather and have been locked up in a small bedroom, which leads to the home's expansive attic -- the only place they have to live and play day in and day out.
The kids end up hidden away for years, during which time they're subjected to neglect from their mother, abuse from their grandmother, and malnourishment from being denied access to fresh air or normal lives. Add the confusion of puberty and lack of things like school and normal socializing for the two elder kids, and things get... complicated (in the incestual sense).
Andrews' book would turn into a series (the Dollanganger series), including three sequels and a ghostwritten prequel (Andrews died in 1986), plus additional books published in and after 2014, titled The Christopher Diaries, which were also ghostwritten.
As I mentioned, this story was made into a movie by Jeffrey Bloom in 1987, and starred Kristy Swanson as Cathy. I much prefer the 2014 adaptation, which was directed by Deborah Chow and aired on Lifetime, and is now streaming on Netflix. The cast includes Heather Graham (as Corrine), Kiernan Shipka (as Cathy), and Ellen Burstyn (as the abusive grandmother). I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a great movie -- it's melodramatic, a bit soapy, and a similar level of disturbing as I remember the book being – but if you're looking for an adaptation that'll scratch a nostalgic itch for V.C. Andrews' book, this would be the one I recommend.
Netflix doesn't have the sequels available – Lifetime released Petals on the Wind (with Rose McIver as Cathy), If There Be Thorns (with Rachael Carpani as Cathy), and Seeds of Yesterday in the years following Flowers in the Attic. And then, in 2022, Lifetime adapted Garden of Shadows (the FITA prequel book) into a 4-part miniseries called Flowers In The Attic: The Origin, starring Kelsey Grammer and Kate Mulgrew. You can purchase those adaptations on digital at Amazon, or watch them streaming with the Lifetime Movie Club add-on to your Prime Video subscription.
