The Bad Seed

I love this movie, much better than the original. I love acting ,atmosphere, and creepiness of Rachel. Plus this movie has the original ending, something much taboo and too shocking for 1950s audiences. Buy this movie, you won't be disappointed. I hope for a bluray release with bonus features.

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

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.

Not as good as the original, but not as bad as the latest. Carradine is good, follows the book/play closer, but lacks what I (and likely John Waters) loved about the B & W classic. Worth a watch.

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).

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.

The movie was good but it wasn't the one I had intended to order the one I wanted was The bad seed with Rob Lowe

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.

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.