Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- disturbing
- tense
- heightened
- late night horror viewing
- television thriller night
What critics said
Critics found the remake mildly entertaining but constrained by an uneasy middle ground between genuine darkness and campy excess.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Emma’s mischievous exterior conflicts with her suspected involvement in a classmate’s death.
David is forced to question everything he believes about his daughter Emma.
The father-daughter relationship turns the family setting into the film’s primary source of unease.
The production is explicitly identified as a remake and updates the parent-child thriller premise to the 2018 era.
Films like The Bad Seed, and why
The Good Son
psychological horror centered on a disturbingly dangerous child and parental denial
We Need to Talk About Kevin
domestic thriller involving a parent confronting a child’s concealed violence
Orphan
stylized child-centered horror with mischievous menace and family anxiety
Movie Details
- Director
- Rob Lowe
- Release Date
- 2018-09-09
- Runtime
- 84 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (363)
Cast
- Rob Lowe
- Mckenna Grace
- Sarah Dugdale
- Marci T. House
- Lorne Cardinal
- Chris Shields
- Cara Buono
- Patty McCormack
- Shauna Johannesen
- Luke Roessler
Common questions
- What is The Bad Seed about?
- A father’s faith in his seemingly innocent daughter unravels when a classmate’s tragic death suggests a darker explanation.
- What is The Bad Seed like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Bad Seed as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Bad Seed violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Bad Seed as mild.
- What did critics think of The Bad Seed?
- Critics found the remake mildly entertaining but constrained by an uneasy middle ground between genuine darkness and campy excess.
- Which films are like The Bad Seed?
- Films with a similar feel include The Good Son, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and Orphan.
- How long is The Bad Seed?
- The Bad Seed runs 84 minutes.
