V.C. Andrews' If There Be Thorns - Film Review

The third instalment of Virginia Andrews' gothic horror series is adapted for the screen for the first time. I really enjoyed this book, so I was excited to see the adaptation but also worried that it would be too different from the book as new writers and actors would be working on this film - Andy Cochran had replaced Kayla Alpert (who wrote the screenplays for Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind) and Cathy and Christopher's characters had been recast with older actors, but I went into this film with an open mind.

The film starts with Christopher (played by Jason Lewis) and Cathy (played by Rachael Carpani) living the perfect family life as man and wife and keeping the true nature of their relationship and dark past from Cathy's sons - handsome and talented teenage Jory (played by Jedidiah Goodacre) and lonely and awkward pre-teen Bart Jr. (played by Mason Cook). Both boys are aware of their biological fathers (Julian and Bart Sr. who Cathy had relationships with in Petals) who both died and are under the impression that Christopher is just their stepfather and call him Dad as he is the only father they've known.

As Bart isolates himself from the family, a mysterious new neighbour moves in next door and shows an unhealthy interest in Bart - yes, the psychotic money obsessed mother turned creepy and strangely sweet grandmother Corrine (Heather Graham reprises her role) returns and is seeking redemption from her children or to take Bart away from them to raise as her own. As secrets and lies are revealed, Cathy and Christopher's family are turn apart and the horrors of the past come back to haunt and possibly destroy their children's future.

The narrative followed the storyline very well, but I felt that a lot of the characters were underdeveloped or not used enough. Heather and Mason did terrific as grandmother and grandson, every scene that they were in together was heartfelt and emotion and their scenes separate were just as good - Mason did great as his character became darker as his head was filled with twisted religious beliefs of his great-grandfather and he began to lose his mind, while Heather showed a more vulnerable side to her character and the aging make up was so realistic which made it more believable seeing her portray an elderly woman. Rachel was great as Cathy and she did great in her scenes, her acting was brilliant but I wanted to see more of that edgy feisty side of Cathy that made her more unique (which was shown towards the end, hopefully we'll see that side to her in "Seeds of Yesterday") - it was an interesting take to see Cathy on anxiety or depression pills (it wasn't really clarified) as she had been through a lot throughout the series and realistically it wouldn't have been a surprise, but I was relieved that she FINALLY threw them away and faced up to her demons instead.

Jason Lewis definitely resembled Mason Dye (who played the younger version of Christopher in Flowers) and did okay in his role, but I didn't like the fact he played a key role in a dark scene that should have been between Cathy and Bart and it felt very out of character to see him be in that scene with Bart instead. Jedidiah Goodacre was a very nice dancer and it was great to see a fresh face portray Jory, but despite his great acting his character felt very under used - this was a disappointing due to the fact Jory was the second narrator in the novel alongside Bart and I would have liked to have seen more scenes with Jedidiah.

The supporting roles did really well, but there were some that could have done better. Mackenzie Grey as John Amos did terrific as the religious and crazed antagonist, but it was strange that he had a British accent when the younger version had an American accent in Flowers (who was played by Andrew Kavadas) and I thought that this was very inconsistent. I noticed a similar consistency error with Glynis Davis as Marisha Marquet and although she was good at playing Jory's uptight and snobbish grandmother, her previously British accent from Petals became American and I think both actors should have been informed on details like this prior. Robert Moloney as Malcolm Foxworth was great as the evil and sexist father of Corrine and grandfather of Cathy, Chris and the twins in the flashbacks, but he looked nothing like how I imagined him while reading the book, he resembled an older version of Bart instead - his acting skills did make up for it.

Emily Tennant as Melodie was a better actress than I thought - in my initial review, the TV premiere had cut several scenes that fleshed out the Jory/Melodie romance, which actually made the relationship more developed upon my second viewing. I was very happy to see Christine Lippa as Emma, who was my favourite character from the book and I loved her portrayal of the feisty housekeeper and surrogate aunt. Bailey Skodje as Bart and Jory's adopted sister Cindy was a sweet actress and she did well in a very dark scene that showed how unhinged Bart had become, but the aftermath did feel rather rushed and Cindy seemed a bit too forgiving or Bart's unapologetic actions.

Overall, I really liked this film and was mostly fine with the changes made - the best was making Jory and Bart older (who were originally fourteen and nine whereas in the film they are seventeen and twelve), which I believe was a wise choice as they were mature roles in a dark story and both actors handled the roles very well. Although I wish that Cory and Carrie were mentioned more in this film as they were main characters in the previous stories and their tragic deaths had profound effects on Cathy, Christopher and Corrine.

This film has plenty of drama and it embraced the horror elements of the novel, which is why I'd originally gave this production a ★★★★½ rating in 2015. Now, this would be a ★★★ upon another viewing.