La mala semilla

Not bad for a Lifetime Movie. The film is definitely a B-movie with its overly simple cast, sets, plot, but even in it's simplicity it's not terrible. It reminds me of The Orphan. I enjoy these kind of movies, because they think outside the box, of the average film.

We watch Emma Grossman as she tries to navigate her dark impulses and appear normal to the world. We see this simple twist of a child who does her best to mimic emotion, out smart adults and get everything she wants.

The story is interesting in the fact that we know from the start what she is. And its fun to watch her try and trick everyone. The acting in the movie is poor, but Mckenna Grace shines. Somehow she held the film on her shoulders at such a young age, she has talent. Rob Lowe really didn't add much to the movie and the cheesy PG love thing really didn't help with the story. The lines were cringe in places and I swear that babysitter was a little bit psychopathic herself. But overall it kept my attention.

I'm very curious what the original 1956 film is like. If they compare at all.

Lifetime is mostly known for their formulaic, made for TV movies, but something about this one is quite refreshing. Maybe it's because they're using known actors and a known director.

Pros: The acting (particularly the performances of McKenna Grace and Rob Lowe), the music, the direction, and the ending.

Cons: A couple of considerable plot holes (how does a little girl remove a wasp's nest and tape it onto someone's backseat without anyone noticing?) Some characters also feel incredibly dumbed down.

I give this film a 7/10.

I do not know why they called it a "remake" it was so very different. Like just so many other cheesy dramas, nothing very special or unusual. And of course it had to take place in not one, but 2 big beautiful glass houses where the original was in an apartment. So much more believable/shocking was the old one. And the performance of the mother of the deceased child, in the original, was spellbinding. People could really "act" back then. Not like today. Most current so called "talent" is just plain boring or filled with bad language.That is supposed to be entertaining?

The book and play were masterpieces of psychological theories in the 1950s. The studios bowed to the censors when making the film and altered the ending. But this atrocity is beyond reason the worst concept of remaking anything of that era. Even changing her name to EMMA? As Monika stated in the original film's ending, "We still have Rhoda" bites the dust, I recommend everyone avoid this throwaway schlock and read the novel, rent or stream the original film and enjoy the REAL show!

Well worth a look, not far short of being a genuine cinematic release.