The Bad Seed

Loved this movie glad I was able to find it on DVD

I admittedly had misgivings about buying this DVD, but those doubts were dispelled. "The Bad Seed" is a suspenseful, riveting story that explores the theme of evil and the dilemma of a mother torn between love and revulsion. Christine Penmark is a typical mother who strives to raise her young daughter, Rachel, in an environment of love. Rachel is beautiful, sweet, and smart. However, her kind-seeming exterior masks a coldblooded heart. Christine discovers, to her horror, that her daughter is a ruthless psychopath. Many people neglect this movie version in favor of the one starring Patty Maacormack and Nancy Kelly. Both versions are wonderful in their own ways. I appreciate this TVM version because the acting is not overly dramatic. Rachel is portrayed wonderfully by Carey Wells, a young girl whose soft voice is chilling as she threatens the character of Leroy, (m Lynne Redgrave is fantastic as the Penmark's landlady, Monica Breedlove, and Blair Brown brings warmth and heartbreaking empathy to the role of Christine. Give this gripping psychological thriller a chance. God bless you all. (Please check out my fantasy novel, Crimilia, now available on this site. Thank you).

Saw as a kid, about the same age as the girl on the movie. Talk about a freeze out. Cold, evil little miss, but she knows her stuff and will get what she wants at no cost. Forgot how it turned out at the end. I remember as a kid the scenes with the conflicting handy man and how they hated each other but other than that the movie was a distant memory until I found it again on Amazon! Better than the other version I think because that was my era when it was made.

The newer version of the bad seed is much better than the older original version.I Recommend this DVD,it's good, very good

Remakes are usually disappointing, but this one stands nicely on its own merits. The original loses a lot of its potential creep-factor because everyone but Patty McCormick speaks at such a manic pace, because of Nancy Kelly's continuous pitch of scenery-chewing hysteria as Christine, and because it is so noisy. This postmodernized version is quieter, slower, and spookier. I think it may be closer to the book than the 1956 film. Both versions miss one salient character point that's very clear in the book: Rhoda isn't a pretty child, unlike the child actresses in both films, so the stupid-making spell that she manages to cast over most of the adults in her orbit is all the more impressive. At any rate, I'm happy to own this version as well as the first.

This updated version of the Bad Seed falls short compared with the one with Patty McCormack. The core of the story is the same-not much deviation. One of the highlights from the older version was the performance by Eileen Heckart as the grief stricken mother.The scene where she confronts the little "demon's" mother is heart-wrenching. This version with Blair Brown probably can stand on its own but in comparison it pales. The core of the story is about a child named, Rachel, who on the outside, appears to be a "little angel," but behind this facade is a little monster who seems to not have a conscience--a pint sized sociopath. After a terrible event (will not disclose) her mother begins to realize that her "little angel" is more like a demon and she questions that this may be an inherited trait (to tell you why she questions this ,is to reveal too much of the plot). Lynn Redgrave as the typical busybody neighbor has a predictable but stable performance and David Carradine as the creepy janitor is sometimes humorous.If you plan on purchasing this film, I recommend the version with Patty McCormack and Henry Jones(as the too imbibing janitor -he his hilariously creepy, sinister and funny).

I was a very young girl when I first viewed this movie on television. I feel like it is awesome to have a copy.

Riveting Rachel. It's a little unnerving that so many young children can play Bad Seeds so convincingly! But this youngin nails it far better than the woman who plays her mother. This is an excellent, entertaining update that amazingly they didn't wreck with foul language, sex or nudity. It's just a good movie, which follows closely to the original in some ways and diverged in others. Old, slow and black and white isn't always better.

I recall begging my Mum to let me stay up and watch this little gem of a movie when first broadcast on UK TV when I was about 10. Ever since i had been wanting it to come back on TV, it never did. I bought this DVD from the Warner Archives and boy I'm glad I did. No extras at all, but to finally have this awesome chilling TV movie in my collection is well worth it. Way better than the original in my opinion. The print looks great too. Not to be missed if you enjoy a good edge of your seat murder mystery.