Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

jadavix "The Bad Seed" apparently has the distinction of being the first film in the "evil children" subgenre of horror movies. Unfortunately it is not one of the better ones.This material probably would have been more shocking in the '50s. Thing is, it should still be shocking now, but really shouldn't be. You can tell "The Bad Seed" was based on a play; the filmic medium isn't exploited here to create shocking moments; everything is kept off-screen.Further, the movie is really over-long, at two hours and ten minutes. You spend a lot of time waiting for inevitable moments you can see coming right from the beginning.

ScottMovieClass287 Wow...Just wow. Watch this film and you will see the origin of children psychopath films and it doesn't get better then this. Original fantastic creepy non-diegetic sounds and a female lead that knock the door down in terms of terrifying style. Had to watch this for a class and regret doing it late at night. Film utilized high key three point lighting throughout that really popped the characters faces and costumes. Excellent film would recommend.

s_ano Overall this was a pretty great movie. I thought there were a lot of areas where they could have just done away with a scene or two..... or three. Creepy kid movies like this one are the reason why I don't want kids. Rhoda was amazing. For being so young I thought she had the best performance out of all actors in this film. McCormack did an amazing job at playing this adorable little psychopath, I was genuinely freaked out and I couldn't stand the girl. I do wish that Christine wasn't such a weak character, I think the story would have been even more interesting if her and Rhoda were on opposing sides instead of working together. The ending was absolutely insane. Just when I thought it was over, the story turned another corner. As for the final scene all I can say is.... Karma.

BA_Harrison Nature or nurture? Can a person be born evil or is wickedness always the result of a bad upbringing? These are the questions that arise as 8-year-old Rhoda (Patty McCormack) proceeds to bump off anyone who gets in her way.The first few scenes of The Bad Seed drip with an exaggerated saccharine sweetness that is difficult to stomach ("What will you give me for a basket of kisses?" asks Rhoda; "A basket of kisses? Why, I'll give you a basket of hugs!" comes her father's reply). Some might believe that director Mervyn LeRoy was deliberately aiming for high camp. Others have surmised that the over the top theatricality was the result of a stage cast unused to performing in front of a camera.Another possibility, and one that I he subscribe to, is that LeRoy intended for the excessive fawning of his central family to catch his audience off-guard, the cloying sentimentality at complete odds with the harrowing emotional pain and suffering later endured by those most affected by Rhoda's unspeakable acts. It certainly had that effect on me, the breakdown of Rhoda's mother (Nancy Kelly) and the anguish of Mrs. Daigle (Eileen Heckart), mother of dead child Claude, coming as quite a shock given how unbearably happy everyone is at the start of the film.Extremely daring for the day, the film not only deals with the touchy subject of child murderers (rare, but not unheard of), but also depression, mental breakdown, alcoholism, and suicide, ultimately making it quite the traumatic experience despite the staginess of the acting. It also manages to deliver not one, but two twist endings, the first very effective, the second bloody ridiculous, but oh so entertaining. And to cap it all off, we get a cast call that sees each performer taking a bow, closing with Kelly putting McCormack over her knee and giving her a good spanking. WTF?!?!