Has any author been more made for Lifetime than V.C. Andrews? Nope. So it was no surprise when the network announced that four movies based on the Dollanganger saga would begin airing on its network in 2014. Unlike the 1987 theatrical film, the ending follows the book.

Of course, it's the same basic story of the Dollanganger children Chris (Mason Dye, MTV's Teen Wolf), Cathy (Kiernan Shipka, Mad Men and Netflix's The Thrilling Adventures of Sabrina) and the twins Carrie and Cory who must endure after the death of their father and eventual abandonment by their mother Corrine (Heather Graham) inside the attic room of their brutal grandmother Olivia (Ellen Burstyn).

However, where the original film only hinted at the incest between Chris and Cathy, this one uses it as the bait to keep you watching the movie. Hey - it's 2019. For some reason, 90% of all pornography seems to be incest based these days. Perhaps V.C. Andrews was on to something.

Instead of trying to tie the ending off with a neat - or poorly realized - ending, this time the story naturally leads to the second book of the series, Petals on the Wind, which aired four months later.

I'm pleased to state that I have all four of these films - are you surprised? - and I didn't even wait for the four pack from Walmart. No, I have them all individually because I bought them the moment they came out. Not every movie has doughnuts killing mice and children, you know.

Cinematography and staging above par. That's about all there is to say that stands out about this movie, Though the film remains more faithful to the book then its previous 1987 incarnation The acting and characters fail to connect to heart strings of the viewer which was not the case with 1987 version. Ellen Burstyn's character comes across as just a crabby grandmother type Heather Graham seems much more a older sister to Cathy then her Mother, Christopher as effeminate and Kienman Shipka as intellectual tomboyish figure just going along the ride waiting for her ending. Though faithful to book in a lot of ways and Cinematography above par. There just isn't the feel of dread and other emotional stirrings you got from the book or 1987. You don't connect with the characters in this one. Instead they are just there doing their acting bit. Though Ellen Burstyn's character in this film is flat due too direction and writing Ellen Burstyn's performance reflects a honed actor at her finest; acting royalty.

My wife who read the book many years ago was looking forward to this film adaptation. She informs me that the film was faithful to the book.

As for me I probably not the target audience for this Lifetime Original Movie. Its mainly targeted at a female audience and despite the star casting of Ellen Burstyn, it has made for TV written all over it and the largely interior sets very much displays its low budget if glossy origins.

The film is about a group of four children locked in an attic in the care of their stern and wicked grandmother while their glamorous mother (Heather Graham) tries to reconcile with her father and inherit his money. Over time the two older siblings embark on an incestuous relationship and discover that there mother has abandoned them and worse they are superfluous to her new life and they plan to escape.

The film is plain, old fashioned, even a tad hammy. Burstyn imbues her character with some emotions and care towards her grandchildren but in the main she is a harridan. Graham starts of as the caring mother but over time she has entered her own glamorous world and you get the feeling she cares less about her kids.

The younger children play their parts well, the older children did not convince. They did not look like kids locked up in an attic, malnourished, living in a troubled existence.