If There Be Thorns

Bart lives with congenital analgesia, so he cannot feel pain, which fuels reckless behavior and a rich fantasy life. He uses make-believe to cope with family tensions and to hide misdeeds from others. This early dynamic foreshadows the darker events to come.

Cathy and Chris live as husband and wife while Cathy dreams of having a daughter. They adopt Cindy, the two-year-old daughter of a former dance student, to complete their family. Bart resents the attention Cathy gives to the new sister, sowing seeds of insecurity.

Bart is drawn to the lonely next-door neighbor who welcomes him with cookies and gifts, asking him to call her 'Grandmother.' She cultivates secrecy by asking for Bart to keep their interactions private from his mother. The elderly woman's manservant, John Amos, also befriends Bart and hints at deeper, troubling stories about women.

The old lady tells Jory that she is actually his grandmother Corrine. Jory initially does not believe her and tries to avoid her, while this revelation plants seeds of suspicion about the family's hidden history.

Influenced by the diary given by John and the grandmother's gifts, Bart begins to pretend he is his great-grandfather Malcolm Foxworth. His newfound identity fuels acts of aggression toward his siblings and parents, signaling a dangerous turn in the household.

Bart's violence escalates when Jory's dog Clover goes missing and is found dead with barbed wire. Soon after, Bart nearly dies from tetanus, an incident that heightens the family's fear and pushes Jory toward suspecting the neighbor's involvement in the turmoil. Jory's suspicions begin to cohere around the mysterious neighbor.

After Bart's tetanus scare, Jory tells Chris about his suspicions. They confront the old woman, who is revealed to be Corrine, Chris's mother. Corrine pleads for forgiveness, but Chris orders her to stay away and chooses not to tell Cathy about the confrontation.

Cathy is injured in an accident and is told she will never dance again, leaving her wheelchair-bound. She begins writing the story of her life, attempting to make sense of the past. Bart then steals pages from her manuscript, sparking the unraveling of family secrets.

Bart discovers that Cathy and Chris are siblings and that Corrine had imprisoned them to gain an inheritance. He proclaims them 'Devil's spawn' and clings to John, who feeds his resolve with more deceitful tales.

Jory's paternal grandmother Madame Marisha Rosencoff visits and confronts Cathy about her relationship with 'her brother Christopher.' After hearing the truth and its traumas, Jory forgives his parents, recognizing the tragedy they've endured.

Cathy learns Corrine's true identity after Bart mentions gifts, and Corrine confronts Cathy. John knocks both women unconscious, ending the confrontation for the moment as part of his manipulative plan.

Under John's direction, Bart locks Cathy and Corrine in the cellar with the intent to starve them to death. Bart's belief in his great-grandfather's vengeance fuels this brutal act, revealing the depth of his breaking point.

The house catches fire as Bart's plan spirals out of control. Corrine dies from heart failure as she is pulled from the cellar, while John perishes inside, abandoned by his scheme. Cathy is saved by Chris and others, ending Corrine's reign of terror.

In the epilogue narrated by Cathy, she forgives her mother at Corrine's funeral and the family resolves not to reveal their biological relationship. Bart appears tempered by the events but remains haunted by Malcolm Foxworth's legacy and the fortune he stands to inherit.