West of Zanzibar (1928, Tod Browning)

 
West of Zanzibar
1928|Tod Browning

Lon Chaney slithers across the floor, his legs paralyzed from a fall, his heart blackened by betrayal. Eighteen years earlier, he was Phroso the Magician, a successful performer with a beautiful wife. But she left him for another man, only to die the following year after giving birth to a daughter. He has spent every day since then setting into motion a vicious revenge on the man and child who ruined his life, and now, gazing at the hence-grown girl, his hatred boils over.

The Bad Seed (1956, Mervyn LeRoy)

 
The Bad Seed
1956|Mervyn LeRoy

The little girl examines her reflection in the mirror, both pigtails neatly braided, her dress spotless and wrinkle-free. Outwardly, she presents the perfect image of a well-mannered 1950s schoolgirl. Perhaps a little too perfect. Look closer and you may notice the slight scowl in her brows, the subtle grimace on her face, or the cold gleam in her eyes when she espies something she desires. Before long, her carefully maintained façade melts away and reveals an eight-year-old sociopath, devoid of sympathy for other human beings and driven only by her own selfish whims.