Though this movie gets categorized as Horror, I think it's more fittingly a psychological thriller... I think the main Horror elements are mainly missing - there is no grime, no true monster, merely the fallout of the murders. The main thing that carries this movie, in my opinion, is Christine, who slowly realizes that her darling daughter Rhoda may not be what she seems.
From the beginning of the film you get the feeling that Christine doesn't trust her daughter fully - perhaps explained later in the film by the fact that she already has half-formed suspicions that her daughter killed their previous landlady. The horror of this movie is the horror we see in her face when she realizes the truth - her daughter is a sociopathic killer, devoid of emotion, who has killed a boy for a tiny trinket - a Penmanship award. The heartbreak and guilt in her face as the boy's grieving mother comes over is quite unnerving. This is a much more subtle movie than simply a "evil child murders people" film.
Psychology is very present in this film, as the characters discuss the merits of the theory that certain evil tendencies can be passed on genetically with no amount of nurture able to change it. That's where the title comes in - Rhoda is a "bad seed," born without conscience, doomed by the genetic legacy of her murderess grandmother. I'm not sure if these theories hold up scientifically in modern day of not, but the "nurture vs. nature" debate is certainly still ongoing.
This is a must watch if you prefer psychological horror and subtle suspense to outright gore. This "horror" is not an absurd fantasy - it could happen with anyone, anywhere.
From the beginning of the film you get the feeling that Christine doesn't trust her daughter fully - perhaps explained later in the film by the fact that she already has half-formed suspicions that her daughter killed their previous landlady. The horror of this movie is the horror we see in her face when she realizes the truth - her daughter is a sociopathic killer, devoid of emotion, who has killed a boy for a tiny trinket - a Penmanship award. The heartbreak and guilt in her face as the boy's grieving mother comes over is quite unnerving. This is a much more subtle movie than simply a "evil child murders people" film.
Psychology is very present in this film, as the characters discuss the merits of the theory that certain evil tendencies can be passed on genetically with no amount of nurture able to change it. That's where the title comes in - Rhoda is a "bad seed," born without conscience, doomed by the genetic legacy of her murderess grandmother. I'm not sure if these theories hold up scientifically in modern day of not, but the "nurture vs. nature" debate is certainly still ongoing.
This is a must watch if you prefer psychological horror and subtle suspense to outright gore. This "horror" is not an absurd fantasy - it could happen with anyone, anywhere.