James Dittiger/LifetimeThe Dollanganger gang is back!
The literary world's most dysfunctional family ever is making its way to the small screen in Lifetime's Flowers in the Attic on Saturday, Jan. 18, and trust us when we say this is one movie worth staying in for.
Starring Ellen Burstyn, Heather Graham and Kiernan Shipka, the network successfully brings V.C. Andrews' controversial 1979 novel of the same name to life in all of its soapy and disturbing glory. We're talking incest, child abuse, poisoning, death and more here, people.
We've seen the movie (and rewatched it around six times already!) and we're telling you why you need to tune in and watch Lifetime's take on the story of Cathy (Shipka) and Christopher (Mason Dye), the brother and sister duo, who are tormented by their grandmother (Burstyn) and mother (Graham), leading them to turn to each other. (See prior incest mention.)
1. Because we need that sequel, damn it: Lifetime is so confident in how the movie will perform on Saturday that they've already started working on adapting the second book, Petals in the Wind, with Flowers screenwriter Kayla Alperts set to pn the sequel. Set 10 years later, Petals in the Wind will be "a very juicy and compelling revenge drama." And if you've read the series, you know just how crazy Petals is, which means we must have it on our TV screens. We must!
2. Because Kiernan Shipka is Kiernan Shipka: OK, how can you not be obsessed with the Mad Menstar, who proves that her awesome performance as Sally Draper on the AMC hit drama isn't a fluke. Of taking on such messed up roles, like Sally and Cathy, Shipka explained, "I think that playing more complicated is much more fun."
Basically, she's just the coolest teenager ever and totally steals the show, no easy feat when up against Burstyn. Speaking of...
3. Because Ellen Burstyn chews a whole lot of scenery: And it looks delicious! As the seriously stern, scary and super religious grandmother Olivia, Burstyn is chill-inducing and looks like she's having a blast. Come on, this is a woman who forces her grandchildren to hide in an attic, starves them and puts tar in their hair to prove a point. "Working with Ellen is sort of every actor's dream, and to be able to do such intense scenes with such an accomplished actress, too, was just such a cool experience for me," Shipka gushed.
4. Because it goes there: Anyone who's seen the 1987 film adaptation can tell you how disappointed they were that many of the book's racier and more controversial storylines were removed. Basically, they bleached out all of the dirt. (Incest? Not a trace.) Lifetime's version? It's all there. Alpert said she and Lifetime "stick as closely as we could to the original book and we did not shy away from some of the taboo subjects."
5. Because Flowers is the original Fifty Shades of Grey: Before women were ripping through the pages of E.L. James' erotic novel on the Kindles and Nooks, they were hiding Andrews' coming-of-age tale from their parents under their covers. So show your elders some respect, mmmkay?
Flowers in the Attic airs Saturday, Jan. 18 at 8 p.m. on Lifetime.