The Bad Seed Returns (2022)

No one can say that the original Bad Seed (1956) is not a riveting psychological horror/thriller. Watching a mother slowly realize that she is raising a straight up psychopath is nothing short of horrific. Great film.The Bad Seed (2018) is a watered down version of the classic with the twist of a father learning these truths about his daughter. It’s an average watch because it just didn’t bring anything fresh enough to give it a je ne sais quoi to make it very appealing. Also, its hard to measure up this father/nefarious daughter film with Orphan (2009) being similar but setting a much higher standard.I was interested to see where they would take the storyline with an older McKenna (even though I would’ve preferred seeing an older version of Rhoda from the ’56 film). True to deranged form, McKenna doesn’t fail to be an uncomfortable person to watch.She’s still a shrewd egotist and masterful at hiding her darker side. We watch a few of her schemes turn into close calls and missed opportunities but the movie falls flat in terms of payoff. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a third film on the horizon.It was ‘meh’. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. It was just a middle of the week, night on the couch watch for me. If they make a 3rd film, I’ll watch it just to satisfy a slim curiosity.