Flowers in the Attic 1987

In the picturesque town of Gladstone, Pennsylvania, the Dollanganger family - patriarch Christopher, matriarch Corrine, and their three young children, Chris (14), Cathy (12), and the mischievous twins Carrie and Cory (5) - lived a life of tranquility until fate dealt them a devastating blow. The sudden loss of Christopher Sr. in a car accident left Corinne struggling to make ends meet, her family on the brink of foreclosure.

With desperation etched on her face, Corrine shares a long-buried secret with her children: her marriage to Christopher had incurred the wrath of her millionaire father, Malcolm Foxworth, who disinherited her as a young woman. Now, as Malcolm’s health begins to falter, Corrine sees an opportunity to win back his affection and secure their financial future by returning to her childhood home, the imposing Foxworth Hall in Virginia.

However, there’s a catch: Malcolm is oblivious to the existence of Corrine’s children with Christopher. To keep them from being discovered, Corrine locks them away in a secluded upstairs room, assuring them that they’ll only be confined for a few days. Her mother - known only as “the grandmother” - takes it upon herself to further restrict their freedom, forcing Corrine to reveal the truth: the children are the products of incest, born from Christopher’s union with his own half-sister.

The grandmother’s fervent disapproval of intergender contact and her insistence that the children maintain absolute modesty create an atmosphere of suffocating oppression. While Corrine visits regularly at first, bringing gifts and toys to lift their spirits, her appearances become increasingly infrequent as time wears on.

As the months drag by, Cathy and Chris are left to navigate this bleak reality, finding solace in the attic’s vast space where they’re free to create their own imaginary world. They transform the dusty room into a vibrant haven, crafting paper flowers that bloom like a garden in the desolate landscape of Foxworth Hall. But as the days blend together, the children begin to realize that Corrine’s promise of freedom was nothing more than a distant memory, and that they’ll be trapped in this isolation until their grandfather’s passing.

The once-carefree household on the outskirts of town had undergone a profound transformation as the years went by. Cathy and Chris, now firmly entrenched in puberty, struggled to navigate their blossoming emotions amidst the suffocating atmosphere of neglect and isolation. The twins, deprived of essential nutrients and sunlight, remained stunted and fragile, relying heavily on their siblings for emotional sustenance. As the grandmother continued to tighten her grip on the children’s lives, Cathy and Chris found solace in each other, their bond growing stronger despite their best efforts to suppress their feelings.

The grandmother’s vigilant eye caught sight of Chris’ lingering gaze upon a half-dressed Cathy, prompting a ruthless punishment: the withdrawal of food for an extended period. As hunger gnawed at their bellies, the children prayed fervently for their mother’s return, only to have their hopes dashed by her prolonged absence. In a desperate bid for survival, Cathy and Chris hatched a plan to escape with the twins, seeking help from beyond the confines of their desolate existence.

Just as they were about to make their move, the grandmother’s mercy was briefly bestowed upon them in the form of powdered-sugar doughnuts, followed by an eerie silence. The children’s bodies began to protest the lack of sustenance, beset by a series of minor ailments that further eroded their already fragile state.

As another year slipped away, Corrine finally reappeared on the scene, her return marked by tales of a luxurious European honeymoon with her new husband, Bart Winslow. Cathy and Chris were consumed by anger and resentment, but ultimately chose to keep their emotions in check, fearing Corrine’s abandonment would be their ultimate punishment.

Their concern for the twins’ rapidly declining health proved to be the catalyst for action, as Cathy and Chris hatched a plan to escape once more. Chris crafted a makeshift wooden skeleton key, allowing them to slip into their mother’s suite under the cover of darkness, stealing cash and jewelry to fund their newfound independence.

One fateful night, Cathy stumbled upon her sleeping stepfather, and in a moment of reckless abandon, planted a kiss on his lips. Chris was left reeling with shock and jealousy, leading him down a dark path of rage and violence that culminated in a brutal assault on Cathy’s person. Overwhelmed by remorse, Chris struggled to come to terms with the atrocity he had committed, while Cathy wrestled with her own conflicted emotions, torn asunder by her love for Chris.

As the family teetered on the brink of collapse, one of the twins, Cory, succumbed to a deadly bout of pneumonia. Corrine’s hesitation in seeking medical attention sparked a fiery outburst from Cathy, who threatened to reveal their existence to their grandfather if help was not forthcoming. Corrine finally relented, taking Cory away for treatment, only to return the next morning with devastating news: the young twin had passed away.

The children were left reeling in the wake of this tragedy, Cathy’s mind consumed by dark doubts about whether Cory’s death was a direct consequence of her own moral failings. As the family struggled to come to terms with their loss, the fragile threads of their relationships hung precariously in the balance.

As Chris’s pilfering of treasures from his mother’s chambers resumes, he uncovers a shocking truth: Corrine and Bart have abandoned Foxworth Hall forever. Eavesdropping on the household staff, Chris pieces together the disturbing revelation that their grandfather had passed away a year prior, leaving only the grandmother to perpetuate the sinister atmosphere within those hallowed halls. His ears perked up by whispers of a “mouse infestation” in the attic, Chris connects the dots between the tainted treats and Cory’s untimely demise, confirming his worst fears - the grandmother was behind it all, using rat poison-laced food to silence her victims.

With this newfound understanding, the trio of surviving siblings finally escapes Foxworth Hall, bound for a train that will whisk them away to Florida. At the station, Chris spills the beans about Corrine’s inheritance being contingent upon her remaining childless from her previous marriage - a detail that shifts the blame from the grandmother to Corrine herself as the primary perpetrator. Chris and Cathy deliberate over whether to involve the authorities, ultimately prioritizing their bond above all else, but Cathy makes a solemn vow to one day exact justice on Corrine for her heinous crimes, sealing her determination in the fire of righteous indignation.