The Good Son

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2:09

The Good Son

R

1993

1h 27m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

26%

Tomatometer

27 Reviews

54%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Mark (Elijah Wood), a young boy who loses his mother, must stay with his extended family while his father is away on business. Mark becomes acquainted with his cousin Henry (Macaulay Culkin). However, the extent of Henry's depravity becomes clear when Mark sees him kill a neighbor's dog and intentionally create a traffic pileup on the highway. After a supposed mishap on an icy pond with Henry's sister Connie (Quinn Culkin), Mark tries to reveal Henry's crimes before it's too late.

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Critics Consensus

The Good Son is never good enough to live up to its unsettling potential, failing to drum up much suspense and unable to make Macaulay Culkin a credible psychopath.

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Brian Lowry

Variety

Jul 25, 2007

This peculiar thriller doesn't deliver enough jolts to leave the audience screaming.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Jul 25, 2007

There's wonderful use made of a Maine port town, and Ruben gets a dizzying thrill or two out of overhead shots, but the conceptual overload finally prevents this from coming together.

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Derek Adams

Time Out

Feb 9, 2006

A summer camp classic.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Aug 10, 2022

2/4

...sporadically watchable yet mostly (and curiously) inert...

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Malcolm L. Johnson

Hartford Courant

Jun 6, 2018

Unhappily, although Ian McEwan's screenplay has its strong points, and Ruben skillfully builds tension and suspense, this updated, gender-bent Bad Seed falters at key points.

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Barbara Shulgasser

Common Sense Media

Sep 29, 2017

3/5

Creepy '90s thriller about murderous kid has violence.

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Bob D

@345bob Jul 31, 2026

This was a fantastic movie.they also did good on the camera angles

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Fantazynerd 1

@RT48179632 Jul 4, 2026

A good reason why I dont want kids

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Ricardo D

@RT43154676 Jun 24, 2026

Perfeita atuação das 2 crianças. E olha que para criança fazer algo mais dramático é difícil pela inexperiência emocional. Este filme continua assustador. Acho que mereceria um remake.

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Christian K

@ckacar Jun 23, 2026

I like when early in the movie evil Culkin tells our hero that he is going to try and kill him but then they shake hands and agree its much too early in the film to do it now.

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Justin T.

@RT29681041 Jun 23, 2026

Very Good Thriller Film From The Early 90's

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April T.

@April89 Jun 23, 2026

Awesome freaking movie

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Joseph Ruben

Director

Macaulay Culkin

Henry Evans

Elijah Wood

Mark Evans

Wendy Crewson

Susan Evans

David Morse

Jack

Daniel Hugh Kelly

Wallace Evans

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The Good Son: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Mark (Elijah Wood), a young boy who loses his mother, must stay with his extended family while his father is away on business. Mark becomes acquainted with his cousin Henry (Macaulay Culkin). However, the extent of Henry's depravity becomes clear when Mark sees him kill a neighbor's dog and intentionally create a traffic pileup on the highway. After a supposed mishap on an icy pond with Henry's sister Connie (Quinn Culkin), Mark tries to reveal Henry's crimes before it's too late.

Director: Joseph Ruben
Producer: Joseph Ruben, Mary Ann Page
Screenwriter: Ian McEwan
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 24, 1993, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $44.4M
Runtime: 1h 27m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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