Bad Kids of '76
Bad Kids of '76
1976 was a tough year for parents.
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1976 was a tough year for parents. At least, cinematically… on silver screens across the U.S., parental units were routinely bumped off, possessed by demons, made into vampires, or at the very least maimed or sent into psychiatric hospitals for life.
One of my favorite 'bad kids' movie from 1976 is The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, starring Jodie Foster as Rynn, a 13-year-old sociopath who's living alone in a huge house and trying to maintain the façade that her alcoholic writer father is "always working in the study".
That excuse doesn't float for long, especially after Rynn makes the mistake of inviting borderline pedophile Frank (Martin Sheen, who also got it on skeevy March-December with Linda Blair in Sweet Hostage) into her home. After a shocking bout of rodent-rage resulting in the death of Rynn's pet hamster, all bets are off and Frank finds out exactly what the little girl who lives down the lane is hiding in her basement. Very well-acted and not shy when it comes to chilling scenarios, this movie is very much a product of its time (that's a good thing).
Another lesser-known but no less effective shocker from the 70s is The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, starring Sarah Miles and Kris Kristofferson as lovers caught in the crosshairs of her fatherless 13-year-old son (played beautifully by Jonathan Kahn, who only went onto to one of other film after this) and his band of evil classmates. A dreamy romantic fantasy invaded by the sadistic, nihilistic nightmares of the voyeuristic boy, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is a must-see for fans of arty horror.
Probably the best-known bad kid movie from our nation's bi-centennial b-day is The Omen — which has a particularly memorable death scene set at a birthday party. Five years before this ostentatious celebration, Robert Thorn and his wife Katherine (Gregory Peck and Lee Remick) replaced their stillborn baby with an orphan from the same hospital ward. After a series of grisly deaths and some rather bratty behavior, 6-year-old Damien (Harvey Stephens) is accused of being The Antichrist. (Something tells me the threat of being grounded for a week won't much of a deterrent to the little devil.)
Also…
The Premonition
Director: Robert Allen Schnitzer
Starring: Sharon Farrell, Richard Lynch, Danielle Brisebois
Kidnapper clown traumatizes five-year-old girl.
To the Devil a Daughter
Director: Peter Sykes
Starring: Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Nastassja Kinski
Hammer-glamour and kinky-kiddie Kinsky… can't go wrong!
Dracula & Son
Director: Edouard Molinaro
Starring: Christopher Lee, Bernard Menez, Marie-Helene Breillat
Hardly a chip off the old block, Dracula Jr. hates the sight of blood.
Carrie
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, William Katt
High school girl with telekinetic powers and a case of PMS to beat all.
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Compiled by Staci Layne Wilson