"The Bad Seed" Review

Written in 1954 by William March, “The Bad Seed” is a story about a young girl, Rhoda, who seems to have an inherent evil, unbeknownst to almsost everyone except her mother, Christine Penmark. As the story progresses and people begin to drop like flies near Rhoda, Christine starts to believe that Rhoda’s charming presence is all just a façade to masquerade her true self.

Reviewing a book that is 66 years old is always done with aging and context in mind. Considering the usual hang-ups that are inevitable when reviewing old novels and movies, The Bad Seed holds up surprisingly well. Really, I guess it shouldn’t be all that shocking considering its subject matter, which is still ever-present in modern films such as Ari Aster’s 2018 “Hereditary” (the title speaks for itself). Regardless, the horror was the first of its kind in the time period. As America was still on the other side of the impending secular, psychedelic-heavy movement of the 60s and 70s, the thought of a family dynamic outside of the norm struck fear in quite a few readers at the time. Because March was able to captivate on this theme so early, things have still remained largely the same in the grand scheme of things. While obviously different in multiple areas, the country is still predominately Christian and of course, opposed to their child possessing an inherently evil soul.

The main difference now lies in our country’s current fixation with mental health diagnoses, which can both help and hurt this book when looking at it all these years later. On one hand, the ignorance of the field of psychology at the time can deepen the horror of Rhoda’s actions, considering there was no understanding of how she could be so evil. But, on the other hand, its subject matter could be laughable to the naïve generation at the time.

While I wasn’t there to see it, I am inclined to believe it was the former. March is able to tell a story that remains fresh today. Subtract a few phrases and archaic colloquialisms and the book reads as if it were made in 2020. While the psychoanalytical approach to novels was not as prominent in its time, the book offers value in both its pure terror to those reading it and in its intrigue to those with the understanding of its psychological themes.

The Bad Seed makes us wonder how much control we have over the most precious thing a human being can ever experience—parenthood. The expectations that come with having a “good” child are still prevalent in today’s world, where image still seems to reign above all. That’s what makes Rhoda’s outward appearance so terrifying to its readers, making us wonder what really happens in the mind of their own child, as well questioning the value of arbitrary “manners’ in judging character.

With Christine’s husband gone on work trips, she is absorbing all of the emotional trauma that her “mini-me” is causing. This direct approach to motherhood is horrifying and still stands out today, as the book’s main conflict is not in Rhoda’s murders but in the distress that it causes her mother. Christine is presented as hopeless and hysteric throughout the novel, eventually gaining more knowledge of the family’s past and its overlap with an inescapable gene of evil.

The idea that mental illness and emotional disposition in general can be transferred through nature opposed to nurture is also discussed in this story. The most frightening part about this and the other explored themes is that they are still prevalent today.

March’s biggest strength in the novel is his ability to balance conventional horror while reviving the newly awakened psychological thriller genre, à la Edgar Allan Poe. He builds suspense as the audience discovers plot points alongside our protagonist in Christine. Not only that, but there is also a sense of mystery involving past family members, offering somewhat of a twist as it adds more context to the story. I swear I am not trying to spoil the book. Due to the fact that it is a short story, its cross-genre approach and ability to be thematically layered helps it stand the test of time as it was never a product of its time, rather it was a product of eternal and evolutionary conditioned fear. Our struggles with expecting our children to turn out the way we please are still prevalent today. Considering that we have so much social and biological stock in our children, The Bad Seed is undoubtedly, and I can’t emphasize that enough, every parent’s worst fear.

Because of that, I give The Bad Seed an “A.”