The Bad Seed

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source: The Bad Seed

Trailer—The Bad Seed

The Bad Seed

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!)

I don't know how I never got around to watching this excellent thriller. Patty McCormack is riveting as Rhoda, a little girl who is a pig-tailed, smiling monster. A classmate drowns in an "accidental" death, while Rhoda comes home to mama to complain that the boy had won a spelling prize which she deserved to win. As the story develops, Rhoda's mom uncovers unsettling events surrounding her darling princess. Think of Billy Mumy in my favorite episode of the Twilight Zone, "It's a Good Life;" same character traits, but a girl this time. I was blown away by the story, the script, and the acting. I cannot recommend this film highly enough. If you have not seen it, do so.

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 consider this to be more of a psychological drama than a horror movie. Eight-year-old Rhoda has no remorse or feeling for the crimes she has committed, saying that it was "their faults". McCormack is a wonderful actress who could past her age in any movie. Overall, this is my favorite movie of all time and I recommend it to anyone who likes suspense with psychology.

as the mother of the drowned boy.... a performance that must rank with the best of the 1950s. Heckart repeated her stage role in the 1956 film with Nancy Kelly and Patty McCormack as the mother and daughter. Henry Jones (also in the stage production and excellent), Evelyn Varden, Gage Clarke, Paul Fix, Joan Croyden and Jesse White are good in support. Jones and Varden are especially good. William Hopper is and always was BLAH. But Eileen Heckart is superb as the drunken, crushed woman who knows there is something more to her son's death than she is being told. Her two scenes are riveting as she lurches across the room, begging for information, yet totally in control of the situation. Kelly, McCormack, Jones, and Varden are also good (if stagy) in their roles. Kelly seems hopelessly hammy but grows on you even though she seems to be imitating Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard most of the time. Great film, literate, interesting, riveting..... a must!