The Good Son (1993)

A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle, and befriends his cousin who's the same age. But his cousin begins showing increasing signs of violent behavior.

Director:

Joseph Ruben

Writer:

Ian McEwan

Stars:

Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Macaulay Culkin	...	Henry Evans
Elijah Wood	...	Mark Evans
Wendy Crewson	...	Susan Evans
David Morse	...	Jack
Daniel Hugh Kelly	...	Wallace Evans
Jacqueline Brookes	...	Alice Davenport
Quinn Culkin	...	Connie Evans
Ashley Crow	...	Janice
Guy Strauss	...	Arizona Doctor
Keith Brava	...	Doctor in Blackport
Jerem Goodwin	...	Factory Worker
Andria Hall	...	Reporter
Bobby Huber	...	Axe Man
Mark Stefanich	...	Ice Man
Susan Hopper	...	Woman at Rescue

Storyline

Following his mother's death, Mark is sent to Maine to visit his aunt and uncle while his father goes on a business trip to Tokyo. Mark meets his cousin, Henry, and the two quickly form a friendship. However, Henry begins to show signs of violent behavior that worry Mark.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | aunt | business trip | highway | jealousy | 

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Taglines:

In a quiet town...In a comfortable home...In a perfect body...Evil can be as close as someone you love.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for acts of violence and terror involving a disturbed child

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

El ángel malvado

Filming Locations:

Beverly, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$44,594,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mary Steenburgen was originally cast as Henry's mother.

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Goofs

Close-up shot of the Caprice station wagon hitting the snow mobile trailer in the freeway wreck scene clearly shows a completely empty road beyond, even though in every other shot there are multiple vehicles approaching and crashing.

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Quotes

Henry: You better stop telling lies about me, because no one's going to believe you.
Mark: Sooner or later they're going to find out about you.
Henry: Who's they? My dad? My mom?
Mark: I told your mom.
Henry: Why would she believe you? She's my mom, not yours.
Mark: You know, you're wrong about that. She is my mother.
Henry: Your mom? You crazy? Your mom's maggot food.
Mark: My mom said she'd always be with me. She chose your mom as a way of coming back, but I guess it would be hard for you to understand that, but it's true. She's my mother now.
Henry:

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Connections

Featured in The Nostalgia Critic: North (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Rocks & Rails"
Music composed by Elmer Bernstein

User Reviews

Dark insight into sociopathic children

I think part of the reason why 'The Good Son' is barely remembered is because it deals with a side to humanity that no-one really wants to accept in that not all children are sweet little innocents, pure as the driven snow. It's not very comfortable watching a film that shows sociopaths-- people born without the ability to feel guilt and empathise with others-- are born, not made and their dangerous traits are apparent even in childhood. 'The Good Son' revolves around Mark, a motherless boy of twelve who is sent to stay with his Uncle Wallace, Aunt Susan and two cousins, twelve-year-old Henry and six-year-old Connie. At first, Mark revels in the visit that takes his mind off his recent bereavement but he soon starts to realise that Henry is a sociopath whose parents are blind to his dark, violent side. It is a film that pulls no punches in just how malevolent Henry is and how easily he will pick off anyone who dares to interfere with his twisted sense of fun.

Macaulay Culkin was excellent as the angelic-looking Henry whose boyish cuteness hide his true nature and his performance here proves he could have been one of the few child actors who graduated into a successful young adult actor had his personal life not been such a mess. It really was chilling seeing the child I was so used to seeing in comedies being so emotionally cold. But it is Elijah Wood's Mark who gives the film heart. Young Wood, only eleven years old when he filmed this, delivered a great performance as a young boy faced with the awful truth and desperate to stop Henry while juggling his grief over losing his mother. The scene where Mark is convinced Henry has poisoned the food is a perfect example of how Wood portrayed Mark's desperation, hysteria and helplessness in the face of his cousin's evil.

However, one of the flaws of the film is that is a bit choppy, jumping from scene-to-scene without giving you a feel for the other characters, which is a shame because this is one film where you do need to have an understanding of just how Henry's nature affects all those around him and how he gets away with it all. I read the novelisation of the film by Todd Strasser before seeing the film so it's all the more noticeable for me. The book not only gives greater insight into Mark's budding fraternal friendship with Connie and his need to seek a mother in Susan but it also shows Susan's growing awareness to the monster Henry is and how she feels when she is made to choose between Mark and her murderous child.

Overall, this film is enjoyable enough for a psychological thriller (although a few TV detective shows have done this idea in a slicker way) and it is nice to see a film that doesn't take a softly-softly attitude when dealing with the matter of children who kill. However, the ending was a bit of a cop-out as there could have been so many other avenues to explore had things ended differently for Henry (what should be done with sociopathic children? How do decent, loving families deal with such a child?). Those who do expect a bit more from their films will probably be disappointed.