The Bad Seed

In Fern Grammar School, Rhoda Penmark is adored by adults for her knack and sweetness. Yet her classmates keep their distance, sensing something isn’t right about her. They avoid her and whisper that danger lurks beneath the charm.

Claude Daigle dies and the death is deemed accidental, but there are signs that something is off. Rhoda quarreled with him over a medal for perfect penmanship, which she believed she deserved. Claude's face bears crescent-shaped marks that hint at foul play.

Christine Penmark, Rhoda's mother, begins to sense her daughter's callous reaction to Claude's death. The eerie calm in Rhoda's responses unsettles Christine. She starts to worry that something dark may be at work in her daughter.

Christine recalls troubling events from the past, including the deaths of her pet dog and Rhoda’s elderly babysitter. The pattern of tragedy begins to feel connected and personal. The fear that Rhoda might be responsible grows inside her.

Christine learns Rhoda was adopted, a fact that compounds her worry. She discovers Rhoda’s birth mother, Bessie Denker, was a serial killer who died in the electric chair. The revelation deepens Christine's dread and guilt about passing a dangerous bloodline to her daughter.

Leroy Jessup, a maintenance man at the apartment complex, relentlessly teases Rhoda about Claude’s death. Rhoda resists at first, but the taunting gradually fuels fear that he might expose her. The dynamic sours as his teasing grows more pointed.

One night Rhoda takes drastic action. She lights Leroy’s mattress ablaze and locks him inside his shed, trapping him in the flames. Christine watches the murder from a distance, horrified by her daughter's cruelty.

Christine confronts Rhoda about the murders, attempting to force a confession or reveal the truth. Rhoda confesses to the killings with a chilling lack of remorse. The revelation steels Christine’s resolve to protect others by any means.

Christine begins writing letters to her husband describing Rhoda and the danger she poses. She keeps them unsent, fearing that someone might read them and call the authorities. The act marks Christine’s first serious attempt to document the truth without exposing it immediately.

To prevent Rhoda from harming anyone else, Christine secretly gives her an overdose of sleeping pills. She also destroys the unsent letters she had written, erasing the evidence of her thoughts. The act is a desperate bid to silence the danger she fears in her daughter.

After dosing Rhoda and erasing the letters, Christine shoots herself in the head. The gunshot is heard nearby, prompting a neighbor to intervene. The act seals Christine’s tragic end and leaves Rhoda’s fate in limbo.

A neighbor breaks into the apartment and saves Rhoda from the scene. Christine dies later in the hospital, leaving Kenneth to return home to a silent, grief-filled aftermath. The search for truth ends with Rhoda’s fate largely unexposed.

Kenneth Penmark comes home to a house emptied of its mother and filled with grief. The family is shattered as Rhoda quietly remains alive and unaccused. The future seems uncertain, with danger still lurking behind Rhoda’s smile.

With the evidence of Christine’s actions destroyed, Rhoda remains free to move on and potentially commit further harm. The film closes on a chilling note, suggesting danger will persist just beneath her calm exterior. The threat that haunted the family continues to linger.