David Grossman is a single father living with his seemingly perfect daughter Emma. When a boy is awarded a citizenship medal over her, that boy is found drowned. As the body count piles up, Emma has to figure out how to keep her involvement a secret and keep seeming innocent to her dad.
When I heard there would be a Lifetime remake of The Bad Seed, I automatically assumed it would be terrible. I settled in to watch and I was pleasantly surprised. It's been updated and changed enough from the original story to seem fresh without retreading too much of the same territory. Emma is almost the polar opposite of Rhoda: dark haired, prone to wearing red, and only stays sweet as long as it benefits her. She breaks her facade the minute she's out of sight and honestly isn't very good at murdering people because it only creates compounded problems. This makes sense for a fairly sheltered, privileged child and it's equally plausible that police wouldn't look too closely when an innocent child is involved. She kills people who threaten her, have things she wants, or express too much interest in her dad.
Other characters are well done. Chloe, Emma's babysitter, is interested in David and knows what type of person Emma is. Her only mistake is underestimating Emma. Rob Lowe is a sympathetic, but oblivious David. The cinematography is actually really beautiful and many scenes take place outside, the complete opposite of the claustrophobia of the original. The only drawbacks of the film are the painful looking CGI and the ending. Overall, The Bad Seed remake takes a completely different take on the story and sets itself apart. The original is of course vastly superior, but this was a fun watch.
My rating: 3/5
* Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)
In 1970. a group of seven strangers stay at the deserted El Royale Hotel, which straddles Nevada and California. Each of them has hidden secrets that will come out during the course of the night. I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I was expecting a much darker thriller or horror film. It turned out to be more of a character study with lots of flashbacks to fill in backstory. This cut down a lot of the tension and inturrupted the flow of the film. On the other hand, I loved that each character was fleshed out and felt real.
The best characters are David Flynn, Darlene Sweet, and Billy Lee. Jeff Bridges plays David Flynn, a thief posing as a priest. He has Alzheimer's and has trouble remembering anything sometimes. Bridges truly portrayed the pain and confusion of not remembering his own name at one point. Darlene is a Motown singer, who isn't very famous because of the whims of powerful white men in her industry. I loved her fire and defiance in the face of almost certain death because she's seen similar men and knows what makes them tic. Billy Lee is a cult leader, similar to Charles Manson. Chris Hemsworth pulls off the role with his usual affable attitude with a dark, manipulative underbelly that rears its ugly head especially when he feels challenged.
Bad Times at the El Royale gave each character a fully fleshed out backstory and development. The plot itself is twisty, dark, and violent with a cult, a mysterious blackmail organization, and seven strangers with their own ulterior motives. My favorite part was Billy Lee and his cult because it brought a crazy element in about halfway through the film that I didn't expect. This film is definitely worth your time.
My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins
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