The Bad Seed (1956) - REMASTERED EDITION (Blu-ray)

SPOILERS BELOW

Ah, this film is an old favourite of mine. The picture really works on two levels, as both a piece of absolute camp AND as a genuinely horrifying drama.

The dialogue (at times very over-the-top and a bit ridiculous) seems to be translated directly from the stage. And holy cow... That brat Rhoda? The character is so, soooooooooo artificial------ How could any adult not immediately see through all her nonsense, and not get a sense of how fake she is? So, that's kind of funny to view----super-fake Rhoda, sugary-sweet throughout the film, surrounded by incredibly stupid adults who think she's just the cutest, most adorable thing ever.... Well, if they honestly believe that, they deserve to die by Rhoda's hands....

HOWEVER...... the film also brings up the very real question of "nature vs. nurture" What would a person do, if they really believed that their child was a killer at heart? What would you do, if you knew your child had killed someone? What would you do if you knew your child had killed several people and would do it again? How to deal with a child with no conscience whatsoever, no basic instinct of knowing what was right or wrong....

The drama of it all is so theatrical and over-the-top, more like a stage play than a film in its presentation, but it works---this is so much fun to watch. I usually despise the changes 1950s filmmaking imposed on the rather more daring stage scripts. But in the case of THE BAD SEED, I was more than…

Patty McCormack's deliciously evil performance as Rhoda has been given a considerable upgrade in this remastered edition. If you haven't seen this version of The Bad Seed (it was remade twice more), you probably should. It's the only one to beautifully evoke the rancid, and darkly disturbing portrait of what makes a seemingly precocious-looking child a raving homicidal maniac.

The original Blu-ray release of The Bad Seed was cribbing from elements that were atrociously subpar. WAC has gone to an original camera negative for this remaster and the results speak for themselves. An image with refined details and crisp rendering of Harold Rossen's beautiful tonal B&W cinematography. If you already own that disc, you'll want to start using it, either for a coaster or Frisbee, and double-dip for this stunner of an upgrade.

The Bad Seed is an excellent adaptation of the New York stage play. This film started the frightening trend in movies, as well as television, (remember Billy Mumy's performance as the twisted little boy in the Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life"), of innocent looking children doing horrific things.

I have seen this film a few times over the years. And it still shocks me. I believe this was based on a play. You can tell by the limited locations. The BlueRay is a good transfer. I expected it to be a little more crisp. Nonetheless, it’s a great improvement over the stream and I happy to add it to my collection.