One of the most bracing elements of the upcoming comic book adaptation Kick-Ass is Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz), a 12-year-old superheroine who indulges in some decidedly R-rated mischief like graphic villain-garroting and "c***"-laced bon mots. A recent clip of Hit Girl in action has begun to spark controversy, but at least Lionsgate can point to a long history of cinematic children engaging in inappropriate (and often sociopathic) behavior. Here are nine other kids who blazed a bloody trail for her:
Rhoda Penmark, The Bad Seed
Played By: Patty McCormack
Age: 8
Sociopathic Tendencies: Thanks to serial killer genes inherited from her maternal grandmother, Rhoda blithely murders a classmate, a neighbor, and a janitor.
Success Level: 5. The pigtailed Rhoda got away with a lot more in the play -- in the movie, she's killed by a freak lightning strike and then McCormack herself is spanked over the end credits.
Henry Evans, The Good Son
Played By: Macaulay Culkin
Age: 12
Sociopathic Tendencies: Kills a dog and a cat, singlehandedly causes a ten-car pileup, and attempts to murder his mother and sister like he did his younger brother.
Success Level: 3. Master criminals really shouldn't be taken down by the likes of Elijah Wood.
Mathilda Lando, The Professional
Played By: Natalie Portman
Age: 12
Sociopathic Tendencies: After her entire family is murdered, Mathilda begs hitman Léon (Jean Reno) to teach her the tricks of his trade so she can take out the villainous Stansfield (Gary Oldman).
Success Level: 2. Mathilda's training was controversial at the time -- even more so for the sexual subtext that clouded her relationship with Léon -- but onscreen ultraviolence has come a long way since. In a firefight, Hit Girl would wipe the floor with her.
Joshua Cairn, Joshua
Played By: Jacob Kogan
Age: 9
Sociopathic Tendencies: Basically just wants to drive everyone crazy so he can live with (and play piano alongside) his gay uncle. If a lot of alllllmost-murders are a part of that, then so be it!
Success Level: 6. Actually does murder his grandmother, and does quite the psychological number on his parents (Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga). It's a small body count, but getting away with it has to count for something.
Esther, Orphan
Played By: Isabelle Fuhrman
Age: 9...or so it initially appears
Sociopathic Tendencies: After Joshua, children were apparently lining up to drive Vera Farmiga crazy. Esther does a number on her by trying to kill off and/or seduce various family members after Kate (Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) adopt her from the orphanage.
Success Level: 9. Esther has the wackiest backstory out of anyone on this list (she's really an adult posing as a child!) and she's got a long history of murders and seductions tucked under her neck ribbon. If the movie had let her get away with it -- and she did, in an alternate ending -- she would have easily nabbed a full 10 rating.
The Midwitch children, Village of the Damned
Age: 3
Sociopathic Tendencies: Conceived immaculately during a mass unconsciousness that befalls the village of Midwitch, the blond spawn grow quickly and use their mental powers to torture and kill adults.
Success Level: 4. They're taken down fairly easily, but that look has to merit style points.
Regan MacNeil, The Exorcist
Played By: Linda Blair
Age: 12
Sociopathic Tendencies: Before Hit Girl sparked tsk-tsks by dropping the c-word, the demon-possessed Regan was yelling profanities, spitting soup, and bloodily masturbating with a crucifix.
Success Level: 10. Almost 40 years later, this is still the frighteningly inappropriate high bar that no child actor will likely top.
Damien Thorn, The Omen
Played By: Harvey Stephens
Age: 5
Sociopathic Tendencies: Nannies, priests, unborn babies -- anyone is game for Damien to take out. He's the son of the Devil, after all.
Success Level: 8. Gets away with a lot, including the spawn of an entire film franchise.
Anthony Fremont, The Twilight Zone
Played By: Billy Mumy
Age: 6
Sociopathic Tendencies: Though he only appeared in one episode of television, Anthony Fremont casts a long shadow over his cinematic brethren. His monstrous powers allow him to keep all the adults in town prisoner, wishing dissidents "into the cornfield" or turning them into ghastly jack-in-the-boxes.
Success Level: 10. Like I'd dare give him any other score?