The Bad Seed

I recently watched The Bad Seed (1985) on a streaming service. The film follows a 9-year-old girl whose disturbing behavior may have led to accidents and deaths in her community. Her mother suspects that some aspects of the family's troubled past have been inherited by the girl, driving her actions.

This film is directed by Paul Wendkos (Special Delivery) and stars David Carradine (Kill Bill), Blair Brown (Space Cowboys), Lynn Redgrave (Gods and Monsters), and Chad Allen (TerrorVision).

This made-for-television movie has some solid scenes and characters, along with clear missteps. David Carradine's performance is awkward and unsettling, and while the overall cast delivers solid performances, the child acting is strong. However, casting Carrie Wells instead of Drew Barrymore or Alyssa Milano was probably a mistake. The horror elements are minimal, with only a few kill scenes, and the film relies on the cat-and-mouse dynamic between Carradine and Wells to carry the narrative, which works reasonably well.

In conclusion, The Bad Seed isn't particularly remarkable overall, but it's worth a watch for those looking for something different or if you're a fan of Carradine. I would score it a 5/10.

This is a remake that should have never been made. The original IS original! And the acting is superb. This horrible remake is very choppy and some of the scenes seem to be "fillers" and leave little room for the mystery of the story. The acting is robotic. The talents of Blair Brown, Lynn Redgrave, Richard Kiley, and Keith Carradine are wasted here. The "bad" girl is very stereotypical and not at all believable. Even the dialogue does not seem genuine--people do not talk like that. Unlike the original,nothing seems to be shocking as each new plot twist is revealed. It seems you can always tell what is coming next. Skip this stinker and stick to the original!

Keith Carradine as the gardener was superb. Lynn Redgrave as meddlesome Monica Breedlove and Richard Kiley as Richard Bravo were good. So was Eve Smith as Mrs. Post, the head of Rachel's school.

Unfortunately the performances of Blair Brown as Christine Penmark and Carol Lacatell as Rita Daigler seemed lacking in dimension when compared to the dynamic performances of Nancy Kelly and Eileen Heckart in the original.

Even worse, Carrie Well's delivery struck me as very flat when compared to Patty McCormack's in the original.

My first IMDb review is very fitting. I saw this when I was about 7 years old and they kept replaying it on TV. I was terrified back then!!! I have been looking for this movie for over a decade searching various google searchs etc. Finally I found the movie I saw! I watched parts again and obviously there is a lot of cheesy stuff but the concept of evil skips a generation / wicked little girl etc. is still pretty awesome. I am glad I found a movie I had seen as a kid and couldn't find for a long time. It is still an awesome concept if it were to be done again in today's times - but there is no doubt cheesiness involved with this movie. David Carridine is in it which surprised me this time around.

The reviews of this new version of "The Bad Seed" were so terrible that I watched the DVD to see what went wrong.

I saw the original film when it was released in 1956 and found it lacking--not in its story but in its acting and direction. Based on a hit Broadway show, which was inspired by a book, its origins were plainly visible. There was no attempt to adapt the play to the screen and give it movement and cinematic fluidity, and the cast, an ensemble of well-known and award- winning actors borrowed from the stage show, was still playing to the second balcony. The performances were so loud and over-the-top that they often made me wince. Even worse, the chilling finale of the play was altered due to the censorship of the times.

This new version puts the play's ending back into the script, which is a vast improvement. A few changes have been made to the script but nothing that harms the basic story of an outwardly sweet but amoral little 8-year-old girl with no conscience--a "bad seed"--who murders to get what she wants. Contrary to other reviewers, I did not find this version to be that awful. Granted, it's not what it could have been and it does have a cheesy look to it, but the concept of the story still makes me shudder.

I thought this new version would be more graphic, given the times we live in, but thankfully I was spared the grisly details. Unless you're a devoted fan of the original movie, I think you'll find this remake worth your time. It still has the power to shock.