Doppleganger family is known in the bestselling book series with a large fan base and devoted followers. Now, all four movies are available as a single DVD set.  The Lifetime network produced these four movies, and they are Flowers in the Attic, Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, and Yesterday of Seeds. Covering all four movies can be cumbersome, but let’s take a look at Petals on the Wind. The movie is the second adaptation of a series based on the V.C. Andrews books about the Doppelganger family.  The movie is somewhat better than Flowers in the Attic, which is the first book and movie in the series.

Like all the movies in the disc set, it is hard to cram the whole book into two hours. Unfortunately, it shows in the movies. The Petals on the Wind includes the most vital parts of the story, and if you read the books, you will not suffer as much.

If you happen to only watch the movies, keep in mind that the series is based on incest between the two main characters. Incest plays a major plot point in the whole series.

Petals on the Wind starts ten years after the children (Cathy, Chris, and Carrie) left the attic, as seen in the first movie. They run away from a horrifying situation. Cathy, the dancer, is sharp, persuasive and strong-willed to get the justice that is awaited. Chris, the doctor, is quiet, good-looking and devoted to Cathy. Carrie is sweet, weak and disoriented.

The three characters discover a healthier life. Yet, the undercurrents of what happened to them in the attic will never be forgotten.  They fight illicit feelings of guilt, hidden anger and endless pain. Trying to ease their discomfort, Cathy assures them that she will put an end to their mother because she ruined them. She pretty much threw them away.

It is important that you watch these movies in sequence because so much happens in them. It will be hard to understand the undercurrents of the prior movies. I am sure ardent book fans will love the series even though it was made for Lifetime, not movie theaters.