Review of The Good Son (1993) by Jason — 09 Feb 2009

Mark (Elijah Wood) is a boy who's mother has just died. His dad carries him over to stay with his aunt, uncle, and cousins for a couple of weeks right after her death. At first, all seems to be going great. But soon, Mark will find out that his cousin, Henry (Macaulay Culkin), is a 12-year-old psychotic killer. Just one of the things that Henry does is make an attempt to kill his little sister. For the longest time, Mark is the only one that knows Henry's true side.

For the first and only time, Macaulay Culkin turned away from playing the mischievous, but likable kid that he portrayed in the "Home Alone" movies, to being a cynical and murderous 'bad guy' on the loose in "The Good Son." Just like Culkin did in "Home Alone," he does a GREAT job in "The Good Son." As a matter of fact, in my opinion, he does his best job of acting in this one, and Elijah Wood does equally as good of a job.

A lot of people don't like "The Good Son" because it's so controversial. A 12-year-old boy having a murderous personality like that is controversial, but this day in age, there's a good deal of 12-year-olds that are probably even worse. Also, the ending set up tons of flames from many of the critics and the viewers alike, and when you see it, you'll see why.

So why did I like "The Good Son"? Well, because it was unbelievably suspenseful and compelling after I found out what kind of person that Henry was, and the fact that he has almost everybody fooled about his 'true' side. If you can't stand the idea of a 12-year-old murderer portrayed in a movie or if you can't stand the controversy, then don't buy this film. But if you like suspenseful and compelling films, then I recommend it all the way.