
First adaptation of V. C. Andrews' poorly written yet hugely popular book about four kids -- the products of an incestuous union -- forced to live hidden away in an attic while their destitute mother tries to wheedle her way back into the good graces of her rich, religious father. Not as bad as the book, but not very good, either; and while it tries to solve some of the former's most egregious problems -- ridiculous dialogue and the lack of any convincing reason why the kids don't simply escape -- it can't quite overcome the feeling that, despite what we're told, these supposedly perfectly normal kids might have been genetically shortchanged in the gray area of their own personal attics. Unbelievable and, given the horror of the situation, ridiculously superficial. Posts but never delivers the book's most controversial scene, and features a drastically altered ending. With Kristy Swanson and Louise Fletcher.