The Big Picture
Horror movies often excuse children’s bloody behavior, lessening their terrifying gravitas.
The Bad Seed
portrays a child killer with agency and no external influence, making her truly horrifying.
The film’s realism, psychological terror, and immersive storytelling make Rhoda an iconic and terrifying horror child villain.
Scary kids in horror films really don’t get the credit they deserve. While there are entire franchises centered around the misdeeds of devilish youths, too often these terrifying children manage to escape moral blame because of some external factor forcing their behavior. Even one of horror’s most infamous children, Damien (Harvey Stephens), from The Omen, directed by Richard Donner, can’t be blamed for his satanic influence because it’s his father (Satan himself) that gives him not only the want but the supernatural ability to ruin the lives of those around him.
The genre’s insistence to excuse its children’s bloody behavior doesn’t detract from the horror of their actions, but it certainly lessens the terrifying gravitas, as if to say, “Of course a child could never do such horrible things,” which is why 1956’s The Bad Seed is such a legend in the genre. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, the story of an adorable little girl using her perceived innocence to enact multiple murders shocked audiences at the time for how it portrayed children in a way that they had never seen before. Even now, more than 50 years later, the film sticks out because it doesn’t excuse the titular bad seed’s behavior. The movie makes it clear: this child is committing all of these horrible acts simply because she wants to. That one quality makes the entire film that much more horrifying.
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From ‘The Exorcist’ to ‘Pet Sematary,’ Horror Loves Scary Kids
The Bad Seed began the phenomenon of having its central monster be an adorable child, and its influence can still be seen in countless films today. From The Omen to Children of the Corn, the thought of children being diabolical murderers never fails to thrill audiences; this subversive plot taints the “purity of youth” concept that most movies like to broadcast. Yet no matter how much we see zombified toddlers wreak havoc or white-haired broods take over towns, these horrific situations are cheapened by the fact that the actions are not really the kids’ faults.
Most scary movies focusing solely on adolescents never go the extra step of making their actions purely their choice, often owing them to some external influence (usually supernatural). It doesn’t remove the scares from the movie, but it definitely unburdens the audience of the haunting terror that most horrors try to communicate by making it clear: don’t worry, kids could never do this in real life. By removing the desire of these children to enact such horrible actions, these premises don’t allow the severity of their actions to land and discount them as true villains altogether.
This common resistance to painting children in a terrifying, realistic light makes Rhoda (Patty McCormack) from The Bad Seed such an icon in the genre. The film sees this eight-year-old girl’s mother, Christine (Nancy Kelly), discover that the child she dotes on is a skilled killer. The utter shock that she feels from this discovery is felt by the audience, and just like this distressed mother, viewers may search for a reason as to why Rhoda would do such horrific things. When she finds out that her father was a mythic serial killer, Christine latches onto the belief that he is to blame for Rhoda’s actions, in a way alleviating the blame from her child. That is, of course, before someone rightfully explains that there is no reason to believe the actions of a past generation would influence the wants of the next one. The Bad Seed allows its audience the slight reprieve of believing that there’s some other reason for Rhoda’s bloodthirsty nature before emphasizing that there is no other reason.
‘The Bad Seed’ Makes “Normal” Terrifying
Image via Warner Bros.
The Bad Seed doesn’t use gore to broadcast just how terrifying Rhoda’s actions are. Instead of showing bloody scenes of Rhoda attacking others to emphasize her evil, the movie portrays an ominously realistic villain by showing how terrifying a bloodthirsty child can be. Rhoda is a cute, well-mannered, upper-class little girl, seen as a perfect angel by most adults around her—and she knows that. Aided immensely by the astounding acting of a young McCormack (who was actually eight at the time), the plot’s psychological terror is found in the scenes where Rhodaperfectly manipulates those around her. She uses the perceptions she knows they have of her to erase any thoughts of her being the culprit, comforting them by assuring that their thoughts are correct. Rhoda’s ability to play everyone around her is one of the scariest parts of The Bad Seed, but they pale in comparison to when viewers finally see this killer child fully unrestrained.
One of The Bad Seed’s biggest successes is how it’s able to root viewers into the story, creating such a riveting atmosphere that they experience the same terrifying journey that Christine does. Through excellent sound editing and the entire ensemble delivering great performances, it stresses the dreadful authenticity of the situation. This immersive storytelling is what makes Rhoda’s “tantrums” so scary; without context, seeing a young child scream and glare at others may cause alarm, but most wouldn’t take such an outburst as a sign that the child was about to do something lethal.
In The Bad Seed, though, it’s in the few times that Rhoda expresses impolite emotions that her manicured façade falls away that allows audiences to really see the monstrous personality living within her. Whether it’s her tearfully blaming the boy she murdered for “forcing” her to do it (he wouldn’t give her his trophy) or calmly stating that she pushed an old woman down the stairs, these crimes petrify viewers.
Related ‘Child’s Play’ Director Reveals How ‘The Shining’ Helped Bring Chucky to Life Tom Holland also talked about having to build sets to accommodate the dozen puppeteers needed to turn the Good Guy doll into the murderous Chucky.
‘The Bad Seed’ Is Realistic in the Scariest Way Possible
Horror is saturated with terrifying kids capable of doing truly horrible things, but there’s almost always something missing. When a film adds the subversive element of featuring a child as its main villain, it too often fails to commit to this image, excusing their behaviors to uphold common beliefs about the innocence of children while cheapening the terrifying weight that the concept of a deadly child actually holds.
Despite so many current films being clearly influenced by this type of genre, The Bad Seed is one of the few horror films to take this risk—and it pays off immensely. By constantly reiterating that Rhoda is your average child (at least physically and developmentally), the movie’s terror is highly resonant, playing with the sensibilities to create an uncomfortably petrifying movie experience. Before Reagan, Damien, Isaac, or any of the other evil children in cinema, there was Rhoda. It’s her being a legitimately evil child who wants to do horrible things that makes The Bad Seed the legendary horror film that it is.
The Bad Seed is available to watch on Tubi in the U.S.
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