Movies Like The Bad Seed (1956)

The Bad Seed is a 1956 drama, horror, thriller film from Mervyn LeRoy with a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Bad Seed and The Bad Seed Returns.

Drama Horror Thriller

The Bad Seed

2018

A widower suspects that his seemingly perfect adolescent daughter is a heartless killer.

7.0

MagicScore

The Bad Seed Returns

2022

Several years after the murderous events of the first movie left her father dead, Emma is now living with her aunt Angela and navigating high school. Angela’s husband begins to suspect that Emma may not be as innocent as she appears and suggests sending her off to boarding school. Meanwhile, a new girl at school seems to know Emma’s secrets, leaving Emma no choice but to slip back to her old ways and take care of her enemies by any means necessary.

6.9

MagicScore

The Bad Seed

1985

Rachel is a 9-year-old girl who is perfection itself - unless she's crossed or challenged. Several disturbing recent incidents have led Rachel's mother Christine to suspect that her child is a latent murderess. Upon discovering that she herself is the daughter of a convicted killer, Christine becomes convinced that sweet little Rachel is a "bad seed" - an inherent killer who feels no remorse because she doesn't know any better.

6.1

MagicScore

Hotel Rwanda

2004

Inspired by true events, this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses over a thousand refuges in his hotel in attempt to save their lives.

7.7

MagicScore

Perfect Stranger

2007

A journalist goes undercover to ferret out businessman Harrison Hill as her best friend's killer. Posing as one of his temps, she enters into a game of online cat-and-mouse.

5.8

MagicScore

Dark Waters

2019

A tenacious attorney uncovers a dark secret that connects a growing number of unexplained deaths to one of the world's largest corporations. In the process, he risks everything — his future, his family, and his own life — to expose the truth.

7.5

MagicScore

The Infiltrator

2016

A U.S Customs official uncovers a massive money laundering scheme involving Pablo Escobar.

6.7

MagicScore

Anonymous Animals

2021

The balance of power between man and animal is reversed. In a remote countryside, any encounter with the dominant can become hostile. At the crossroads of fantastic and suspense kind, Anonymous Animals questions the place of animals in our societies.

6.3

MagicScore

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

2016

An American Ambassador is killed during an attack at a U.S. compound in Libya as a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos.

7.3

MagicScore

#10

Black Phone 2

2025

Four years after escaping The Grabber, Finney Blake is struggling with his life after captivity. When his sister Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp, the siblings become determined to solve the mystery and confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.

6.8

MagicScore

#11

The Card Counter

2021

William Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel. Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk. But keeping Cirk on the straight-and-narrow proves impossible, dragging Tell back into the darkness of his past.

6.1

MagicScore

#12

Zodiac

2007

The Zodiac murders cause the lives of Paul Avery, David Toschi and Robert Graysmith to intersect.

7.5

MagicScore

#13

Wonderland

2003

On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call on Wonderland Avenue and discovered a grisly quadruple homicide. The police investigation that followed uncovered two versions of the events leading up to the brutal murders - both involving legendary porn actor John Holmes.

6.1

MagicScore

#14

Gone Baby Gone

2007

When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt, Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons—they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live.

7.3

MagicScore

#15

Five Nights at Freddy's

2023

Recently fired and desperate for work, a troubled young man named Mike agrees to take a position as a night security guard at an abandoned theme restaurant: Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. But he soon discovers that nothing at Freddy's is what it seems.

7.4

MagicScore

#16

Something Wicked This Way Comes

1983

In a small American town, a diabolical circus arrives, granting wishes for the townsfolk, but twisted as only the esteemed Mr. Dark can make them. Can two young boys overcome the worst the devil himself can deal out?

6.4

MagicScore

#17

Silent Hill

2006

Rose, a desperate mother, takes her adopted daughter, Sharon, to the town of Silent Hill in an attempt to cure her of her ailment. After a violent car crash, Sharon disappears, and Rose embarks on a horrific journey to get her back and begins to uncover the truth behind the apocalyptic disaster that burned the town 30 years earlier.

6.6

MagicScore

#18

The Minute You Wake Up Dead

2022

A stockbroker in a small southern town gets embroiled in an insurance scam with a next-door neighbor that leads to multiple murders when a host of other people want in on the plot. Sheriff Thurmond Fowler, the by-the-book town sheriff for over four decades, works earnestly to try and unravel the town’s mystery and winds up getting more than he bargained for.

5.3

MagicScore

#19

The Wizard of Oz

1925

A farm girl learns she is a princess and is swept away by a tornado to the land of Oz.

5.4

MagicScore

#20

Family Blood

2018

Ellie, a recovering drug addict, has just moved to a new city with her two teenage children. She has struggled to stay sober in the past and is determined to make it work this time, finding a stable job and regularly attending her meetings. Unfortunately, new friends, a new job, and the chance of a new life, can’t keep Ellie from slipping once again. Her life changes when she meets Christopher – a different kind of addict – which forces her daughter and son to accept a new version of Ellie.

4.6

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Bad Seed?

The top films similar to The Bad Seed by MovieMagicScore are The Bad Seed (7.0), The Bad Seed Returns (6.9), The Bad Seed (6.1). Each shares drama/horror/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Bad Seed worth watching?

The Bad Seed holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10 from 253 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Bad Seed?

The Bad Seed (1956) is a drama, horror, thriller film directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Bad Seed?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like The Bad Seed Movies like The Bad Seed Returns Movies like The Bad Seed Movies like Hotel Rwanda Movies like Perfect Stranger Movies like Dark Waters

About movies like The Bad Seed

This ranked list pairs The Bad Seed (1956), a drama and horror and thriller film from Mervyn LeRoy, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Nancy Kelly take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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