The Bad Seed (TV 1985)

Freak fatal accidents force a widow to realize her precocious 9-year-old daughter was born to kill.

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writers:

Maxwell Anderson (play), George Eckstein,

Stars:

Blair Brown, Lynn Redgrave, David Carradine

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Blair Brown	...	Christine Penmark
Lynn Redgrave	...	Monica Breedlove
David Carradine	...	Leroy Jessup
Carrie Wells	...	Rachel Penmark
Richard Kiley	...	Richard Bravo
David Ogden Stiers	...	Emory Breedlove
Chad Allen	...	Mark Daigler
Weldon Bleiler	...	Fred Daigler
Christa Denton	...	Rhoda Penmark
Sarah Fairfax
Anne Haney	...	Alice Fern
Carol Locatell	...	Rita Daigler
Eve Smith	...	Mrs. Post
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Katharine Tobin	...	Student

Storyline

Rachel is a 9-year-old girl who is perfection itself - unless she's crossed or challenged. Several disturbing recent incidents have led Rachel's mother Christine to suspect that her child is a latent murderess. Upon discovering that she herself is the daughter of a convicted killer, Christine becomes convinced that sweet little Rachel is a "bad seed" - an inherent killer who feels no remorse because she doesn't know any better.

---

Plot Keywords:

bad seed | murderess | mother | widow | sociopath | 

---

Taglines:

Is evil a choice... Or an inheritance?

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 February 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

La mala semilla

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hajeno Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Patty McCormack, star of the 1956 film, was offered the role of Monica Breedlove, but after reading the script, she promptly turned down the part.

---

Connections

Remake of The Bad Seed (1956)

User Reviews

Dreadful Remake

Why not leave a classic alone unless you can actually improve it? The little girl reminds me of a robot reciting her lines and lacks the believability of a "scary" murderous child. Additionally the changes in the script for updating purposes actually work AGAINST the story line not for it. For example, one of the charms of the original was the fact that any violence was left out of the view of the camera and to the viewers imagination. This version includes a visually graphic depiction of the little Miss Penmark's actions. Why bother to partially update the story instead of making a movie based on the original and using more "modern" and original ideas?