I read the book back when I was in college. It was trash but it was GOOD trash. It involves a happy family--a mom, a dad and four kids. The father dies and the mother rapidly runs out of money. She has no choice to ask her parents (who disapproved of the marriage) for help. Her mother agrees but tells her that her children must stay up in the attic--her father doesn't know about them and, if he did, he wouldn't help her. The kids are in the attic for THREE YEARS. And, over time, one of the brothers "discovers" his sister...and the grandmother tortures them almost daily. Those were the big selling points of the book...the incest and kids being tortured. It does have a happy ending though (sort of).
I was one of the "lucky" ones who actually saw this at a theatre back in 1987. The studio snuck it out quietly--I found out why. First, the story was changed. They wanted a PG-13 rating so there's no incest at all--not even suggested. The tortures their grandmother puts them through were softened or eliminated entirely. They aren't up there for three years. And they completely changed the ending (although it WAS great to see the mother get it at the end). All the changes drained the story of any impact it might have had. Acting didn't help--Louise Fletcher is LOUSY as the evil grandmother; Victoria Tennant was even worse as the mother; Kristy Swanson as the oldest daughter overplayed her role a LOT. Only Jeb Stuart Adams as her brother gave a halfway good performance. It was no great piece of acting but pretty OK.
To be fair to the movie, a faithful adaptation of the book would probably be way too grim for a movie (and get an NC-17 rating) but diluting it completely AND adding lousy acting isn't the way to go! Boring, stupid, illogical...a total waste. This deserves a 0. I'm really surprised that some people LIKE this movie!
I was one of the "lucky" ones who actually saw this at a theatre back in 1987. The studio snuck it out quietly--I found out why. First, the story was changed. They wanted a PG-13 rating so there's no incest at all--not even suggested. The tortures their grandmother puts them through were softened or eliminated entirely. They aren't up there for three years. And they completely changed the ending (although it WAS great to see the mother get it at the end). All the changes drained the story of any impact it might have had. Acting didn't help--Louise Fletcher is LOUSY as the evil grandmother; Victoria Tennant was even worse as the mother; Kristy Swanson as the oldest daughter overplayed her role a LOT. Only Jeb Stuart Adams as her brother gave a halfway good performance. It was no great piece of acting but pretty OK.
To be fair to the movie, a faithful adaptation of the book would probably be way too grim for a movie (and get an NC-17 rating) but diluting it completely AND adding lousy acting isn't the way to go! Boring, stupid, illogical...a total waste. This deserves a 0. I'm really surprised that some people LIKE this movie!