This film was surprisingly unsettling for its time and its subject matter. We've seen lots of films where the lil' one goes bad (the good son, etc...) but this one is quite cinematic i must say. The highlight for me was composer Alex North's score. Beautifully Eerie would be the word to describe it. North's scores have predominantly used contemporary harmonies and dissonances. This is another great example of his superb style. Too bad we couldn't see 2001: a space odyssey, with his original score. Back to the Bad Seed: The lil' girls acting may seem over the top sometimes. Today she could've been diagnosed with Tourrett's syndrome or maybe overdosed on ADHD pills. But then she was just a nice little girl with a little temper every now and then. One other minor fault is the explanations about the nurtureful qualities of psychological behavior, to help the audience understand what's going on. Everyone remember "Psycho"? How we are told by the police what multiple personality disorder is? Remember how unnecessary that line feels today? Well, the Bad Seed has some of that as well. But overall it was quite a delight, and an examination of the anti-thesis of the happy american family.
Review of The Bad Seed
