Dawn

Based on V. C. Andrews' first of 5 books of the Cutler Family, Dawn is about a young girl named Dawn Longchamp who finds out some grim truths about her true identity and how she actually is blood-related to the messed up Cutlers who wield a tremendous amount of power and control over her until she discovers the truth. Veteran actress Donna Mills stars as the grandmother Lillian Cutler and newcomer Brec Bassinger as Dawn. The movie pretty well follows the 1st book and it is worth watching if you like the Lifetime adaptation of Andrews' novels. Shot in Vancouver, the film has some very nice cinematography and a solid Canadian cast but the script and direction could have been better. Still do recommend, though.

The direction, acting, and production values here are very inconsistent, shifting from just okay to quite good, but the story unfolds in a way that is very intriguing and it really keeps your interest throughout. At times, very dramatic and, at others, very campy, but it's all fun and worthwhile.

Brec Bassinger as Dawn can be quite excellent, and Kobe Clarke (as Jimmy) is consistently good in a heartfelt performance. Donna Mills has her most villainous role since Abby in "Knot's Landing," and she nails it here. Always good to see her. The same with Jesse Metcalfe, quite good as Dawn's "father", and Fran Drescher, who is always a hoot and really adds to the camp here. All in all, a worthwhile, good but not great, way to spend your summer evenings.

It was good but it was disturbing and intense as you navigate through the series of four movies when you binge watch them after they are released. I gave a five star rating instead of ten because of the certain elements I seen in the film that may be disturbing for others. I love the characters and cast but not the stuff that go off into the night. Other than that, the movie is good. I just not gonna continue her other series. She's not a horrible author but she is not my cup of tea either. I actually wanted to watch flowers in the attic but after watching the dawn series, I decided not to atm.