If There Be Thorns

I enjoyed the movie this movie was much truer to the book than the second installment of the series and because of that redeemed the series because of that. The only aspect of the book that they left out as I recall was getting more in depth about Cathy and Christopher revealing their secret to Jory.

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source: If There Be Thorns

Shame on Lifetime Movies for allowing such a horrible scene (without some sort of warning to the viewers) of a graphic depiction of a mutilated German Shepherd. I will never watch a movie directed by Nancy Savoca again. That was beyond unnecessary and could have been conveyed by looks of horror on the actors face instead. I'm so angry about seeing that and not being able to "un-see" it. I guess there were prior movies in the series that explained who the boys fathers were, but since I didn't see them, the relationships to their fathers are lost on me. It was not well explained at all. The acting was not good (except for the mom of the 2 boys was decent) and I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

The third installment of the Lifetime series based on The Dollanganger Saga by V.C. Andrews is an improvement over its predecessors, although it suffers from its rushed pace and poor character development. While it's understandable that Cathy and Chris were recast once again, Rachel Carpani and Jason Lewis don't have the chemistry that Rose McIver and Wyatt Nash displayed in "Petals On The Wind" (2014). Another issue is that both Carpani and Lewis have tanned, olive skin; in the books, Cathy and Chris are nicknamed "The Dresden Dolls" because of their fair complexions, even before they were imprisoned in the attic. However, acting honors must be bestowed upon Mason Cook, who undoubtedly gives the most powerful performance of a child actor in the series. As the young Bart, he is believable as a boy who finds out that his family harbors some dark secrets and comes under the influence of two supposed strangers who move in next door. A mysterious lady in black and her butler draw Bart and to lesser extent, his brother Jory (Jedidiah Goodacre) into their world and manage to corrupt the former. This is Heather Graham's best performance in the series, although the make-up in order for her to appear elderly is obvious at times. While she clearly has an ulterior motive, you get the sense that Corrine really does harbor guilt regarding her treatment of her children, resulting in two of them dying tragically young. John Amos (Mackenzie Gray) is a different story, an evil man bent on revenge. Things are wrapped up too quickly, once again it was a mistake on the part of the Lifetime network to cram the story into a 90 minute running time rather than making each adaptation into at least a two-part miniseries, but the disturbing cliffhanger ending does make you wonder what will happen from there. Nothing overly special, but not a complete waste of time either; it could and should have been better.

I enjoyed the movie this movie was much truer to the book than the second installment of the series and because of that redeemed the series because of that. The only aspect of the book that they left out as I recall was getting more in depth about Cathy and Christopher revealing their secret to Jory.

Let's say you slept with your brother, watched your husband die, then set your childhood prison on fire, which sent your mother to the looney bin and your grandmother to hell. What would you do next? This part of the Dollanganger series is set in the 1970's. It looks like it - cinematographer James Liston utilized vintage anamorphic lenses to create more depth and atmosphere, just like the films of that era. Six years later, Cathy and Chris have escaped to California with her sons, Jory and Bart, who feels constantly in the shadow of his older brother. One day, a woman in black moves next door and invites the boys over for tea. She's rich but her only family is her butler, John Amos. Then, she asks if she may have a photo of the boys. Jory decides to never come back, but Bart keeps coming back. She gives him gifts, like a pet snake and a journal that belonged to his great-grandfather, Malcolm. Their relationship must remain a secret, because she is really his grandmother Corinne (Heather Graham, the only actor to return from the previous movies, despite rumors that her part was going to be taken over by Goldie Hawn). Malcolm's journal is bonkers, filled with hateful rants about women, so of course, Jory loves it. After all, of the two people who could be his dad, one is his mom's brother and the other was a maniacal ballet dancer who put glass in people's shoes. Cathy starts to hide beds in her attic, convinced that her children will be taken from her once everyone learns about all the incest. Chris is worried, but that's forgotten when they adopt Cindy, a girl from Cathy's ballet class who died from cancer. Bart disappears and is found in the woods with an infected cut. This all leads to his grandmother dropping the bomb on him that his mom and stepfather are siblings. He reacts pretty much like how you expect - like a complete maniac, even listening to John Amos about how he needs to escape the sins of his family. For some reason, this means killing the family dog. And then Corinne reveals that Bart's real dad is her husband and seriously, my head is spinning so I can only wonder how this kid is keeping it all together. Actually, he's not doing well at all, trying to drown his adopted sister, which lands him in the attic, where he starts talking a whole lot like his insane grandmother from the previous two films. That's when everyone finds out that mom is living right next door. The hits keep on coming - Cindy sees her mother while dancing and falls, losing the ability to ever do the carioca again. Jory's grandmother tries to expose the incest and steals her grandson. And then John Amos knocks out Corinne and Cindy, throws them in a barn and tries to burn them alive to finally ends the family's cycle of abomination. Luckily, that makes mom and daughter love one another again. It doesn't save her from a burning building, but it still seems like everything ends up pretty happy. Except, you know, this is a V.C. Andrews story. Bart still has the journal and has started dressing like his grandfather. Looks like there's one more movie to get through.

This might sound like a harsh review compared to others, but I found the storyline very weak, the writing was laughable at times. The acting is terrible especially from Heather Graham. The actor playing Chris is unattractive and doesn't fit the role. I wasn't expecting much from a Lifeline movie but this one is one to avoid or do like I did, and have it playing in the background while you are cooking so as not to waste any of your time.

This one was not as strong but still enjoyable as part of the series. I felt like the people who played chris and Cathy did not capture the essence of the previous actors . It honestly felt like a different story at times I had to remind myself there are the Cathy and Chris not some randos

Olivia Foxworth is gone and Corrine (Heather Graham) is in the mental ward. Brother and sister Cathy (Rachael Carpani) and Christopher (Jason Lewis) are now married living under the surname of Sheffield with Cathy's sons Jory and Bart. A mysterious woman moves into the mansion next door. It's Corrine and she befriends Bart keeping it a secret from Cathy, Christopher and even Jory. She starts poisoning his mind against his parents. Cathy adopts Cindy who lost her mother and has set up three beds in the attic. This starts off more or less like a horror movie. Corrine is the bogeyman with a mysterious plan against Cathy and Christopher. I would have liked the plan to be better defined and better formulated. The situation should build up until a climatic reveal of Corrine. I haven't read these books and I don't really care about them. Bart starts out too normal to be bent completely out of shape like that. The movie should start him off with a bit of disturbing behavior. I'm not sure how good is the source material. This is better than most other Lifetime movies but it is nowhere near theatrical quality.