Honestly, it’s still weird to think about.
In 1993, Macaulay Culkin wasn't just a child star; he was the child star. He was the kid who slapped his cheeks in the mirror and outsmarted bumbling burglars. Then, he decided to play a sociopath. People weren't ready. When The Good Son movie 1993 hit theaters, it felt like a collective glitch in the Matrix for parents everywhere. You have to remember the context of the early nineties to really get why this film was such a massive pivot. Culkin’s father and manager, Kit Culkin, basically leveraged his son’s superstardom to force 20th Century Fox into casting him as the villain, Henry Evans. It was a "take it or leave it" deal—if Macaulay didn't get to be the bad guy in this psychological thriller, he wouldn't be in the Home Alone sequel.
Hollywood politics are messy. But the result was a film that remains deeply unsettling, not just because of the plot, but because of the meta-narrative of seeing "Kevin McCallister" try to murder his family.
The Pitch-Black Plot of The Good Son Movie 1993
The story kicks off with Mark, played by a very young Elijah Wood. Mark just lost his mother to cancer. He’s grieving, vulnerable, and sent to stay with his aunt and uncle in Maine while his dad heads to Tokyo for a business trip. This is where he meets his cousin, Henry. On the surface, Henry is the "good son"—polite, charming, and helpful.
But things go south fast.
Henry isn’t just a "bad seed." He’s a full-blown predator in a parka. He spends his free time building a lethal homemade crossbow and dropping a life-sized dummy off a highway overpass to cause a multi-car pileup. The way the director, Joseph Ruben, shoots these scenes is cold. There’s no whimsical music. Just the sound of wind and the terrifyingly blank expression on Culkin’s face. You’ve probably seen the scene with the dog. It’s one of those moments that sticks in your brain for decades. Henry lures a neighbor's dog into a well and—well, he doesn't do it for a reason. He does it because he can. That’s the core of the horror here. It’s not supernatural. It’s just a kid with zero empathy.
Elijah Wood vs. Macaulay Culkin: The Power Dynamic
Most people forget that Elijah Wood is actually the emotional anchor of the film. While Culkin was the box office draw, Wood had to do the heavy lifting as the protagonist whom nobody believes. It’s a classic gaslighting trope, but applied to children. Mark sees Henry’s true nature, but when he tries to tell the adults, Henry just tilts his head, puts on a sweet voice, and makes Mark look like the "troubled" one who hasn't dealt with his mother's death.
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It’s frustrating to watch. In a good way.
The chemistry between the two boys is fascinating because they were actually friends in real life during the shoot. Wood has mentioned in several interviews years later that Culkin was a normal kid off-camera, but as soon as the cameras rolled, he became this chillingly distant figure. This contrast is what makes The Good Son movie 1993 work. If Henry were just a snarling monster, it wouldn't be scary. It’s the fact that he looks like the boy next door that makes your skin crawl.
Why the Ending Still Sparks Debates
We need to talk about that cliffside finale. It is, without a doubt, one of the most intense endings to a 90s thriller.
The setup is simple: Henry’s mother, Susan (played by Wendy Crewson), finally realizes that Mark wasn't lying. She finds Henry’s "trophy" from a past tragedy—a rubber duck belonging to his younger brother, Richard, who drowned in a bathtub years prior. It turns out Henry killed his own brother when he was even younger.
The confrontation happens on a sheer cliff overlooking the Atlantic. Susan is literally holding both boys over the edge, one in each hand. She can only save one. It’s a literalization of the "Trolley Problem" ethics experiment. In the end, she chooses the "good" son—the nephew, Mark—and lets her biological son, Henry, fall to his death on the rocks below.
Critics at the time, like Roger Ebert, absolutely hated this. Ebert gave it one star, famously saying that the movie was "unpleasant" and that watching children in such peril was "creepy." He wasn't wrong. It is creepy. But that’s exactly why it has a cult following today. It refused to give a happy, "Disney-fied" ending where Henry goes to a therapist and gets better. It leaned into the bleakness.
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The Reality of "Child Psychopaths" in Cinema
Is it realistic? Psychologists have actually weighed in on this film over the years.
While the term "psychopath" isn't technically used for children (the clinical term is usually "conduct disorder" or "callous-unemotional traits"), the behaviors Henry exhibits are scarily accurate to real-life cases. Think of the Mary Bell case in the UK or the James Bulger tragedy. The film tapped into a very real societal fear: the idea that some people are just born "wrong."
Ian McEwan wrote the screenplay. Yes, that Ian McEwan—the guy who wrote Atonement. He’s a master of exploring the darker corners of the human psyche, and his involvement is why the dialogue feels sharper than your average 90s slasher flick. He focuses on the "mask of sanity" that Henry wears. There's a specific line where Henry tells Mark, "Once you realize you can do anything, you’re free. You can do anything you want."
That’s pure nihilism. From a twelve-year-old.
Production Secrets and Maine Landscapes
The movie looks beautiful, which makes the content feel even more jarring. They filmed in various locations across Massachusetts and Minnesota, standing in for the rugged Maine coast. The "Split Rock" lighthouse and the icy Lake Superior landscapes provide this sense of isolation. You feel like Mark is trapped. There’s nowhere to run because the environment is just as hostile as his cousin.
Interestingly, the film had a different director originally. Michael Lehmann was supposed to do it, but he walked away because of the casting drama with the Culkin family. When Joseph Ruben took over, he brought a more "thriller-centric" vibe, having previously directed The Stepfather. He knew how to film a suburban nightmare.
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- The Crossbow: The weapon Henry uses was actually a real, functioning piece of hardware. The crew had to be incredibly careful on set to ensure no one was actually hurt during the "target practice" scenes.
- The Stunts: While there were obviously stunt doubles, the kids were often on those cliff edges (with harnesses, of course). You can see the genuine fear in their eyes.
- The Rating: The movie was rated R in some territories but stayed PG-13 in the US, which is wild considering the themes of fratricide and animal cruelty.
The Legacy of a Misunderstood Thriller
Looking back, The Good Son movie 1993 was the beginning of the end for the "Macaulay Culkin Era."
He did Richie Rich and The Pagemaster shortly after, but the public image of him had shifted. He wasn't the cute kid anymore. He was a teenager who had shown a very dark, very mature side of his acting range. For Elijah Wood, it was a stepping stone toward becoming one of the most respected actors of his generation.
Is it a masterpiece? Probably not. It has some 90s cheesiness and some logic gaps. But as a psychological study of grief and predatory behavior, it’s surprisingly effective. It doesn't blink. It doesn't apologize for its ending.
If you're planning to revisit it, pay attention to the silence. Modern movies are often over-scored with loud, jump-scare noises. The Good Son lets the tension sit in the quiet moments between the two boys. That’s where the real horror lives.
What You Should Do Next
If you want to dive deeper into the "Evil Child" subgenre or the history of this specific film, here are a few things to check out:
- Watch "The Bad Seed" (1956): This is the spiritual ancestor of The Good Son. It’s a classic black-and-white film about a girl who is a cold-blooded killer. It helps you see where the tropes started.
- Read Ian McEwan’s early work: If you liked the cold, clinical feel of the script, his short stories in First Love, Last Rites carry that same unsettling energy.
- Check out the "making of" documentaries: There are several YouTube deep dives on the "Kit Culkin vs. Fox" drama that explain the behind-the-scenes power struggle which nearly canceled the movie.
- Look up the 4K restoration: If you only saw this on an old VHS or a grainy TV broadcast, the newer high-definition scans highlight the cinematography of the Maine coast in a way that actually adds to the atmosphere.
The film serves as a time capsule of 1993—a year when Hollywood was trying to figure out what to do with its biggest child star and accidentally created a cult horror classic in the process.