Little did I know how much my life was going to change. It was on the night of my father's last birthday. My mother, my older brother Christopher, the twins Cory and Carrie, and I had planned a surprise birthday party for him. We waited for him to come home. And waited. And waited. I knew something was wrong and when the police showed up, I knew he was dead.
Then the money ran out, and Mom decided that we should all move to the Grandmother's house.
It was a decision that confused me. We had never met the Grandparents before. In fact, we had never even heard Mom and Dad mention them.
On the bus ride over, Mom told us her plan. The Grandfather was ill and probably would not live much longer. For some reason, Mom had been disinherited, and she was planning to win her father's love back and become heir to his fortune.
I will never forget the night we arrived. The Grandparent's estate was enormous... foreboding. The cold masonry, the tall gray stone walls, and the vicious guard dogs that barked ferociously at us transformed my nervousness into fear. Something was just not right.
Meeting the Grandmother only confirmed my suspicions. She confined us to a small room with two beds, while Mother was given her old room. The Grandmother told us the rules, making us feel like we were in a prison rather than a home. We were not allowed to see the
Grandfather, or even make him aware of our presence. The Grandmother locked the door to ensure we wouldn't wander where we didn't belong.
For a while, Mother visited regularly bringing food and comfort. But soon her visits decreased. Sometimes weeks would pass before she would make an appearance. Only the Grandmother arrived to scold us and tell us that we were the product of an unwholesome union: our mother had married her uncle – our father. Therefore, we deserved to be treated like the devil's spawn.
When Mother did finally return, she told us about a secret door in the closet that led up to the attic where we would find a huge expanse of artifacts and knick-knacks. And while we made this attic into our home – the very universe of our existence – we worried about our mother who had not visited in quite some time.
Late one night Christopher and I unhinged the bedroom door and snuck into the house. We found Mother's room, only to discover her living like a princess. A huge array of dresses lined her closet. Satin sheets covered her bed. We were outraged.
I confronted Mother on her next visit. Why do you get to live in luxury while your children suffer and are growing ill?, I demanded.
She told me that her plan was working. She was being reintroduced into society and would probably remarry soon. All would be perfect.
All was not perfect. Cory became seriously ill, and I had to demand that he be taken to the hospital. He died soon after. Then Christopher made a shocking discovery. He consulted one of his medical books and discovered that Cory had been poisoned. Arsenic, in the cookies. When was our turn?
On our next trip into the house, we discovered that the Grandfather had been dead for quite a while. We even found a copy of the will. Mother was in the will, but if it was ever made known that she had children, she would be instantly disinherited.
We knew then that unless we acted quickly, our very existence was about to be erased.
Flowers in the Attic Motion Picture Credits
New World Pictures and Fries Entertainment present a Charles Fries Production
CAST
Louise Fletcher............Grandmother
Exteriors filmed on location at Crane's Castle in Ipswich, Massachusetts
Music by Christopher Young
Victoria Tennant...........Mother
Kristy Swanson.............Cathy
Jeb Stuart Adams...........Christopher
Ben Ganger.................Cory
Lindsay Parker.............Carrie
Marshall Colt..............Father
Nathan Davis...............Grandfather
Brooke Fries...............Flower Girl
Alex Koba..................John Hall
Leonard Mann...............Bart Winslow
Bruce Neckels..............Minister
Gus Peters.................Caretaker
Clare Peck.................Narrator
V.C. Andrews...............Window-washing maid
Cinematography by Gil Hubbs
Screenplay and direction by Jeffrey Bloom
Executive Producers Charles Fries and
Mike Rosenfeld
Produced by Sy Levin and Thomas Fries
The movie was released in 1987
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