THE BAD SEED (1985)

[agate]

I read the book and saw the 1956 movie many years ago, probably in the early 1960s, and found that I remembered it surprisingly well this time around, when I watched this 1985 made-for-TV movie. Unfortunately I don’t recall how the 1956 movie ends but I understand that it was changed from the book ending, which at the time was thought to be too dark.

It is a very dark movie indeed, and presenting the scenes in a brightly lit or sunny ambience as this movie does just makes the story all the more chilling. Even more chilling, when you think about it, is the near-plausibility of its premise: that the personality of a pathological killer might be innate and transmitted down through generations through some still undiscovered gene.

I will always think of the child as Rhoda Penmark, not Rachel, and I can’t imagine why her name was changed for this movie. The name Penmark is an interesting if not very subtle choice since it is a penmanship medal that Rhoda/Rachel covets so much that she sends one of her classmates to his death off a dangerous pier.

Carrie Wells is perfect as the child–very attractive and endowed with a charming smile that would win anybody over. John Carradine is excellent in his role as Leroy too. Lynn Redgrave probably does as good a job as anyone could with the part of Monica Breedlove. The scenes with the Breedloves are among the least successful though. The dialogue seems wooden and stilted, and Monica comes off as a bit too effusive and gungho.

I found that I remembered the story so well that I could predict every upcoming scene. I wonder if someone unfamiliar with the story would also be able to predict the next development. If so, then the story presented here would be a failure for it is meant to be suspenseful.

Still, I found it suspenseful enough to stick with it to the end.