The Bad Seed

With some familiar elements of classic thrillers plus some creative turns, this is an unusual and effective thriller. Patty McCormack is memorable as young Rhoda, and the rest of the cast succeed in making their characters react believably to some nearly unbelievable situations. The story moves slowly enough to build suspense carefully, while still holding your interest the whole time.

For this kind of story to work, it has to keep the tension and uncertainty without becoming obviously implausible or annoyingly overplayed. In "The Bad Seed", we see the tension and fear that build in the characters as the story develops, but events also unfold within an atmosphere that otherwise would be peaceful and normal, making for an interesting contrast that helps to maintain a good balance.

Unlike the many banal movies made in recent years about serial killers and the like, "The Bad Seed" also contains some substance. The characters, especially the mother (played by Nancy Kelly), not only have to make difficult decisions, but also must fearfully attempt to understand the reasons for everything. It's a good example of how well a thriller can work when carefully made without a lot of extraneous elements, and it's a demonstration that a movie can have a tense, dark story without being shallow or superficial at the same time.

I love this movie. I have read many reviews from professionals and they all seem to think the movie is too theatrical and you can tell it was a stage play and that the mother is especially dramatic. She is, that's true, but in the same way Faye Dunaway chews up Mommie Dearest and we all know what a hoot that is. Little Rhoda is a real stinker. The handyman had better "give her those shoes." The subplot of the mother's own identity is fun too. All in all, the movie is very 50s. You can almost see Wally and the Beaver coming down the street. Great! There is also some discussion about the formal introduction of the cast at the end which I've always found a very nice touch. Much older films of the 30s used to do that all the time. It's been said this film did it to show the characters were just flesh and blood actors and so their roles and the subject matter (especially Patty McCormack) shouldn't be taken seriously. See it. By the way, there is one review on this site by someone who says they saw the movie at age 12 that is very negative. Don't believe it!

"Now there's a little ray of sunshine, that one."

An occasionally riveting movie from the 50's about a sunny, charming, sociopathic little girl and her mother's desperate attempts to protect her and hide her nature. The Bad Seed sometimes makes the mistake of focusing too much on the dull adults, but overall, it's a solid movie. Good acting all around, and unlike similar modern movies like Orphan, The Bad Seed gets better as it goes along instead of imploding into an absurd mess. It feels a lot like a play, which is natural due to its evolution from novel to stage-play to film. 

I thought The Bad Seed was a sinister (and relatively timeless) gem of the 50's, and I'm sure it was quite controversial in its time. The ending was changed because of the Hays Code, in fact, and feels a bit like a cop-out as a result, but not to the extent of ruining what came before. Check it out if you're interested.

I was blown away! I was at the edge of my seat the whole time. Those people gave me the creeps. I was just flipping through the channels when I came across it. Normally I'll change the channel after a minute or two to see what else is on, but not when I saw this movie! I was so terrified, I sat through the whole movie, uninterrupted. I'm shivering just thinking about it right now!

I really loved this film. You can't beat a movie like this, with the dripping campy delivery by Rhoda. Great stuff. I watched this shortly after the AFI Heroes & Villains list came out, and was surprised to see that not only was Rhoda not in the top 50 Villains list, but she wasn't even on the nominating form. Too bad because this a film where you really end up hating the antagonist and are hoping that someone really clobbers her! That's what makes a great villain. (Incidentally, my wife and I watched this shortly after we found out she's pregnant. Wish us luck!)