Pat Bradley’s ‘Flowers’ adapts Stephen King’s The Man Who Loved Flowers with a fresh lens. The film opens on Evan Love (Jeff Clark Jr.), nervous and rehearsing a marriage proposal in a bleak apartment hallway, clutching flowers. But when he enters, something jolts the scene into a nightmare. This opening sets the tone perfectly: romantic on the surface, but with a dark undercurrent that never lets up.

The narrative centers on Evan’s psychological turmoil as he confides in Dr. Eason (Ty Jackson) during therapy sessions. We are pulled inside Evan’s mind, sharing his perspective and unraveling his obsession with Norma. The film plays expertly with tone, initially feeling like a tender love story before twisting into something far more unsettling. The tension builds steadily, making the darkness beneath the romance all the more impactful.

Jeff Clark Jr. commands the screen with a performance that effortlessly shifts between charming and something more disturbing, capturing Evan’s fractured psyche without over-explaining. Supporting roles, especially Ty Jackson’s Dr. Eason, provide grounded counterbalance, rooting the story in gritty reality. Bradley’s cinematography and the sound design enhance the mood without calling attention to themselves, delivering a polished production that respects King’s source material while staking its own claim.

The film’s twist ending is delivered with cold precision, refusing to soften or sugarcoat the psychological depth explored throughout. ‘Flowers’ is a respectable short and a well-executed homage to King’s chilling storytelling.