‘Dream House’: Following a Classic Trend of Creepy Girls in Film

Horror movies have famously made grown people terrified of kids for generations now, and for good reason. Taking a sweet-faced, innocent child and turning him or her into an evil monster is not only creepy, it plays on the fear of the unexpected. No one wants to believe that someone so small and cute could have the power to be so frightening.

The creep factor is upped by the fact that kids are often underestimated in these films; their intelligence level, and thus their ability to outwit adults, is far higher than given credit for. Besides that, who wants to believe the worst of a tow-headed cutie (see: “The Good Son”)?

But the real scares come when evil is in the form of a little girl. Sugar and spice and everything nice? Hardly. With the release of the film “Dream House” this month, we’re given another look at creepy kids. Let’s take a look back at some of the scariest little girls ever to hit the silver screen (in no particular order).

Esther — “Orphan”

Played with exquisite maturity and, yes, creepiness by Isabelle Fuhrman, Esther is a perfect example of why couples rarely adopt older children. She’s homicidal, vindictive, and secretive, and those are just the traits we know about. At first reminiscent of “The Bad Seed” but with a surprise twist ending, “Orphan” kept me guessing through the entire film and is an excellent addition to a long line of films starring kids who give us nightmares.

The Twins — “The Shining”

One of my favorite horror films of all time, “The Shining” never fails to creep me out; the dead twin girls who pop up in the corridors of the Overlook Hotel are a big part of the movie’s scariness. Murdered by their father in a cabin-fever induced rage, they appear to the film’s doe-eyed central character, Danny, to try to lure him into the clutches of the evil that lurks in every corner of the hotel. When we’re given a brief glimpse of the aftermath of their murder, however, the real scares begin.

Samara — “The Ring “

Something about the imagery of a little girl climbing out of a well with her long, damp hair in her face is simply nightmarish. Samara is a little girl who was deeply wronged by her own mother and seeks retribution in the form of a cursed video. Watch it once and try to get that image out of your head. Just try.

Rhoda Penmark — ” The Bad Seed ”

As the quintessential cutie-pie, Rhoda uses her blonde pigtails and big-eyed innocence to her advantage as she manipulates every adult around her and takes care of anyone who dares to get in her way. This movie will change the way you view homicidal sociopaths. And, for that matter, blonde pig-tailed little girls.

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