50's Horror was really something, huh? Or not. I don't know. I've always liked it, myself. I mean, this era was sort of a resurrection after seemingly nothing coming out of the genre for the last half of the 40's and possibly even a little longer. It's almost like we were eased back in with the rise of Sci-fi, which slowly incorporated Horror into their stories. Giant animals, space monsters, etc. Personally, I love that stuff as much as the traditional Horror of decades past. As the 50's progressed, American Horror would finally be fully restored, with the release of timeless classics such as House On Haunted Hill, which probably wouldn't even be remembered today without the legendary Vicent Price. Then there's The Bad Seed, which may or may not be remembered if not for an amazing little actress named Patty McCormick. Yeah. I love this movie. Like countless others, I've loved this movie since I was a kid. Let's see if we can figure out what's so great about The Bad Seed.

No child is perfect. Some are closer than others, but none of them quite make it mainly because no human is capable of such status. Rhoda Penmark, on the other hand, does a superb job of creating the illusion of perfection, at least as far as well-behaved, polite, and all around pleasant eight year old girls go. OK, so, Rhoda can't possibly be perfect, but let's just say she's a great kid. A great kid who really has no reason not to be since she literally gets everything she wants and more. And as long as Rhoda gets everything she wants, everything is cool. Nevermind perfection, but she at least seems very normal, that is if you don't look too close. Rhoda doesn't seem to even notice that fact that she doesn't have any friends. As long as she is showered with love and attention by the adults in her life, everything is cool.

Rhoda really had her heart set on that penmanship medal and she's been a little off since the teacher gave it to some other kid. There's no way he was better than Rhoda because he was quite simply not Rhoda. I say "was" because the smart little fella turned up dead, recently, during the school picnic. When Rhoda's mother, Christine, tries comforting her, she notices something about her daughter that she's never noticed before: Rhoda doesn't give a fuck. Her classmate being dead means nothing to her. As we get to know her better, we realize Rhoda has no conscience.

Yes. Rhoda has no understanding of right and wrong. Only how to pretend to. We witness her mask of sanity being slowly lifted when the handyman starts picking at her. Despite being sort of a low class degenerate, Leroy is the only person who sees through Rhoda at all. And even he's only half joking when making accusations. If Leroy knows what's good for himself, he'll let this thing go and get back to work, because Rhoda is close to snapping, because her mother, who loves her more than anything in the world, has discovered the horrible truth. Rhoda murdered that little boy when he refused to give up his medal to her. She's not sorry, either. What is there to be sorry about, anyway? Rhoda is happy because she now has her medal. What else could there possibly be to consider?

Christine is devastated beyond words once she realizes that she has given birth to a monster. And one that is already a professional ass kisser on top of it. The guilt and reality sets in when she has a couple run-ins with the drunken mother of the murdered child. Meanwhile, Christine has some serious thinking to do, but ultimately decides to cover up what has happened. After much soul searching and a long overdue discussion with her father, Christine makes a horrifying discovery about herself which may shed some light on why her daughter is the way she is.

Some films leave a bigger impression than others. Some films, you'll just never forget. But what I think is so impressive and memorable about it is the many emotions it can potentially make one feel, none of which get in each other's way. To me, The Bad Seed is a graceful combination of sad, scary, funny, fascinating and powerful. There's so much going on besides the Horror of it all that it's hard to always see it as such, but The Bad Seed is Horror, possibly more so than anything from this decade. Before Michael Rooker's Henry, before Joe Spinnell's Maniac, there was a soulless 8 year old girl, more than willing to destroy life if it meant her day could be improved even a little. An evil existence sugar-coated by 50's innocence. I have no doubt this movie would have turned out good had they gone with some other child actor to play the role of Rhoda, but it was Patty McCormick who gave her the black heart required to become a Horror legend. 10/10