The Good Son (1993)

Director: Joseph Ruben

Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson

A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle and befriends his cousin, a boy of the same age who shows increasing signs of violent and psychopathic behavior.

I have such fond memories of seeing this when I was much younger. I’m so glad to see my opinion of the movie remains unchanged having seen it again after such a long time.

Elijah Wood and Macaulay Culkin are very good in their respective roles. Culkin was an  interesting choice as the psychopathic, evil child, as he was famous for portraying the ‘cute kid’ at the time. The film casually sets up the scene, and then slowly but surely reveals itself for what it really is. Evil presents itself in the form of a kid, making it even more sinister.

Every action is justified by a counter action. It’s also believable that no-one believes Mark (Wood), considering what he’s been through. This is a carefully thought out, well written script that builds to a nerve-wrecking finale.

Elijah Wood won Best Performance award, and Macaulay Culkin received a nomination for Best Villain. ‘The Good Son’ was nominated as Best Film. It earned $60.6 million on a $17 million budget.

Would I watch it again? Yes.