First off, there are a few problems with this movie. Let's tackle them first. Could the directors please decide how much snow was on the ground. One minute it was fairly deep snow even in the woods. The next scene you saw mostly grass. It became so inconsistent that it actually bothered and distracted me. Would parents really allow a boy to have a tree house quite as precarious as the one shown? The third issue I had was with the "physicality" of the conclusion. I do not believe a normal human could have not fallen all the way down off the cliff. I do not believe an average woman could have climbed back up the cliff.Okay, so those are the problem around which you must suspend belief. But then again, how many are out there where you don't have to suspend belief? So, that's okay.I suppose there are people who wonder if any 12 year old could be as intellectually "evil" as Henry. As a retired principal of a junior high/middle school, let me assure that in that regard this film is not that much of a stretch.I think this film is a great thriller. It shows how helpless children can be when adults don't listen. It shows how even at a young age a mind can be terribly messed up.Elijah Wood is top notch here in his child-actor years. Too bad he hasn't remained as cute as he was back then, but then again he's done okay with an estimated net worth of $30 million. Macaulay Culkin turns in a truly creepy performance, although not as creepy as the rest of his real life turned out being.Wendy Crewson is very believable as the mom; fine performance. David Morse is one of those dependable character actors that does nicely here in a rather small (though key) role. Same for Jacqueline Brookes -- quite dependable as a character actress; I always enjoyed seeing her on screen.I'm going to give this film an "8", which is unusual for me, but it is so far above the recent crap that has come out as "thrillers". This is a winner; forget that Culkin messed up his later life and enjoy him from his brief golden years as a child actor. But you'll probably enjoy Elijah Wood's performance even more.

Eleven-year-old Mark lives in the sunny spacious desert of Arizona. When his mum dies from cancer Mark's dad needs psychiatric help and sends Mark to stay with his aunt Susan and Uncle Wallace in Pittsburgh for a few weeks. They own a huge home near the ocean, with tons of places to play and old buildings everywhere. Marks befriends his cousin Henry, who is his age. They both play around like normal kids, but then some trouble starts. Henry purposely shoots a neighbor's dog with a potato gun, killing it. The next day Mark is introduced to "Mr. Highway-Man", a stuffed man the same size as a real human, and Henry acts out Highway-man's pretend suicide, shoving the fake man over a bridge and causing ten cars to crash. Mark becomes especially fearful for his cousin Connie, and also learns of the reason Susan likes him so much... she had a little boy of her own, Richard, who mysteriously drowned in the bathtub years ago. The Good Son appears to mimic the 1956 classic "the Bad Seed". Henry acts sweet and innocent at times, but alone he becomes a monster. It was rather funny seeing Miles, the little boy who hung around with Buck in "Uncle Buck", as a psychopath. Henry killed Richard, his own baby brother, over a rubber duck! Wow, kid, they sell those at the Dollarama! The music was a bit sappy at times, but is still a good soundtrack. The plot is pretty solid, though it never really explains Henry's disgusting behavior. Mark's last moments with his dying mom were very sad. The acting was excellent throughout the whole film. "The Good Son" was remade in 2009 as "Orphan", where a Russian adopted girl wrecks a seemingly picture-perfect family. It's a great movie, if you're a fan of psychological thrillers, add this to your collection.But poor Mr. Highway-man, what'd he do to deserve the abuse!? Just a little joke. Anyway, check this movie out, it's a good one.

The Good son (1993)This not really horror movie, more of a very dark Thriller.The movie start off 12 year old boy Mark, who mother passes away and then in upcoming days his father as to take business.Then Mark had to live with aunt and uncle for bit, at first he seem to get along fine with his cousin Henry. As they do seem have a lot fun at first but then he when he see that Mark start to do some really bad and stuff, started to wonder , if is cousin is Evil as movie goes on it's dose more evil things.I found some scene really good in this movie, the pile up scene was really good a bit out dated a little, Ice skating scenes (I felt like I see that scene some were else before) I really liked the whole movie, I was not fan of the ending, I didn't not like how it ending at all and I hoping more for the aftermath.The acting was great from the youngsters8 out of 10

Meet Mark! Mark's problem? He just doesn't know how to have fun. Also, his mom just died but that is no excuse to not keep an open mind when it comes to murder and mayhem. Meet Henry, an ice-skating, dog-loving, cherub-faced bad boy with the most clueless parents a 4 foot psychopath could want. When goody-2-shoes Mark meets Satan spawn Henry, things quickly escalate out of control as Mark is introduced to a world where hide-and-seek is not a game and treehouses are built at irresponsible heights. Mark soon learns that when it comes to juvenile mischief, Henry's intentions are much more ambitious than TPing houses. The last straw for Mark is when Henry decides he wants to show off his scarecrow- making skills and introduces Mark to his life-sized man doll, Mr. Highway. Mark doesn't seem to appreciate Henry's creativity and when he sees what Henry has planned, he is even more mopey. You see, for a precocious young whippersnapper like Henry, Mr. Highway is the key to having a fender-bender blast, the kind of whip-lashing party that only Henry knows how to get started. Unfortunately, Mark doesn't appreciate having a front-row seat to the auto carnage and the tension escalates from there. Enjoy!