Wes Craven Loved This “Revolutionary” Chiller, Now Streaming Free
Wes Craven is my favorite filmmaker. The late director tapped into a precise kind of humanity among the horror and bloodshed that has always deeply resonated with me. Craven is not only one of the godfathers of the horror genre, but a key reason why I love the genre as much as I do. Without him, I’m not sure I’d be here writing this piece right now. If you’d like to read more about my love for Craven and his game, might I suggest this piece here?
Naturally, then, I’m all about not just Craven’s works, but the works that inspired him. The movies, horror or otherwise, that shaped him into the filmmaker he was. It was Craven who first encouraged me to rent Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, after all. Imagine me in middle school watching that—I was a cool guy. Recently, I checked out a longstanding blind spot in my horror history courtesy of the late filmmaker’s recommendation. Better still, the film is streaming free online, so you can fill in those gaps right alongside me.
Learn more about The Bad Seed below.
Per Tubi: A woman with a hidden past discovers the horrifying truth that within her seemingly angelic young daughter beats the heart of a cold-blooded killer.
The horror genre has gotten a lot of mileage out of kids being bad. Mervyn LeRoy’s The Bad Seed may not land quite as hard in an era of Orphan and The Innocents (still traumatizing, by the way), but I imagine it went over like gangbusters back in 1956. So much so, The Bad Seed wasn’t just a financial hit, but a critical one as well, securing its spot as one of the earliest horror films to ever be recognized by the Academy. Nancy Kelly, Eileen Heckart, and Patty McCormack (the titular Bad Seed) were all nominated for their performances.
The Bad Seed is a hoot, especially if you’re a fan of evil children running amok. It’d make a great pairing with the 1990s update, The Good Son. Wes Craven was a huge fan of the film, especially considering how often his own filmography reflected the contemporary fears and ailments of American society.
Craven is quoted as saying, “That’s the delight of the evil child, I think she’s just so revolutionary and so anti-American, where the nice little girl could never be bad. I think [The Bad Seed] was extraordinarily intelligently written.” The Bad Seed genuinely has a lot of really profound pathologizing going on, and it’s a lot smarter than the evil kid moniker might make you think.
What do you think? Do you agree with Wes Craven? Any plans to check out The Bad Seed on Tubi? If you do, let me know what you think over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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