The episode of Greatest Horror Film You By no means Noticed protecting The Good Son was Written and Narrated by Kier Gomes, Edited by Paul Bookstaber, Produced by John Fallon and Tyler Nichols, and Govt Produced by Berge Garabedian.
There’s nothing like a proverbial bond between one’s personal offspring. The fun are discovering your internal self inside them. The sensation of self-fulfillment, reproducing your very personal mini-me. The conclusion that you’ve far more goal on this world than simply being a cog in company America using that 9-5 grind. Ah sure, the moments you share with your personal baby far outweigh the trials and tribulations of coping with the on a regular basis stress of maturity. However what if that baby has an embedded evil inside them? What if their very own volition comes with malice and hurt? Would you address nonetheless accepting them as they have been? Would you sleep with one eye open, bed room door locked, simply ready to fulfill your demise by the hands of your baby? We’ve seen it many occasions prior in our horror cinema archives, however among the finest iterations of this basic horror trope comes from director Joseph Ruben. It asks the query: What if Kevin McCallister from Dwelling Alone is the very baby you concern and turns into your very personal private grim reaper when the time is correct? Downright terrifying. So let’s have a look at why 1993’s The Good Son (watch it HERE) is without doubt one of the Greatest Horror Motion pictures You By no means Noticed.
After the essential success and reward of Macaulay Culkin’s Dwelling Alone and Dwelling Alone 2: Misplaced in New York, it was time for our favourite baby star to unfold his wings. He was going to go from dispatching pesky bandits, and transfer as much as eliminating members of the family with evil, malicious intent. It additionally gave one other well-known baby star, and Mr. Frodo Baggins himself, Elijah Wooden, availability to play the opposite co-lead. So he stepped into the position of protagonist Mark, serving as Culkin’s cousin within the movie.
The Good Son was in growth hell since 1988 and went by way of a number of shutdowns as a result of budgeting. It was truly Macaulay Culkin’s father, Package Culkin who bought the gears turning once more. Package Culkin needed his son to be on this film so unhealthy that he threatened twentieth Century Fox to place Macaulay in The Good Son, or he’ll take away Macaulay from being in Dwelling Alone 2. twentieth Century Fox agreed and the unique director Michael Lehmann finally left the manufacturing as a result of disagreements with Package Culkin. Director Joseph Rubin, who had expertise with horror movies earlier than like The Stepfather and Sleeping with the Enemy, wasn’t the primary option to direct the film.
The Good Son went into manufacturing in November 1992 and ended three months later in February 1993 which allowed ample time for Macaulay Culkin to complete up his manufacturing schedule on Dwelling Alone 2. Guess Package wasn’t in a position to threaten his approach out of that.
The Good Son takes off with our major protagonist Mark, performed by Elijah Wooden, being despatched to his aunt and uncle’s home after the demise of his mom. His father leaves him for a enterprise journey abroad which places us on this dreadful journey of awkwardness as Mark hasn’t seen his prolonged household for a whopping ten years. From there Mark is greeted by his exterior household and takes to having a possible pal in his cousin, Henry, and little cousin Connie. It’s possible you’ll not acknowledge her however that’s Macaulay Culkin’s real-life sister, Quinn. Not the final time we’ll see one in all Culkin’s siblings present up, however we’ll get to that later.
What a time for a grieving boy to make a brand new pal in Henry. Humorous factor is, Henry will not be the harmless, charming little boy his household makes him out to be. Henry first introduces himself dangling the other way up on the banister with a creepy handmade face masks out of one thing from Leatherface’s lair – in the event you come throughout any child that makes these kind of masks as a passion: keep clear. Additionally don’t let somebody you hardly know kick your legs with vicious intent on the dinner desk and passing it off as taking part in. Henry is popping right into a bonafide little shit already.
As we hold venturing down the psycho rabbit gap we see doubtful issues like egging on Mark about not smoking cigarettes, playfully joking on letting him go dangling from a tree home, or digging at Mark’s deceased mom’s pores and skin shade after demise. The ball of yarn begins to unravel, and Henry’s sinister intentions begin to develop into extra clear.
We see Henry and Mark proceed their journey day after day operating from rabid canine and capturing animals with makeshift bolt weapons and finally killing the rabid canine that Henry taunted. Elijah Wooden went on a journey to destroy a hoop in Mordor. In The Good Son, he’s on a journey to fuckedville with the satan incarnate himself, but I’d take Mordor over this any day. We see Mark and Henry’s mom type a bond as properly, which makes Henry very jealous, he does like to stalk within the shadows watching his cousin get too near his circle of relatives. Wendy Crewson performed the mom right here however was initially solid with Mary Steenburgen. Sadly, she needed to drop out as a result of scheduling conflicts. Oh what may have been.
All through the film, we begin placing clues collectively of Henry’s brother, Richard, who handed away as a child. Richard is performed by Macaulay Culkin’s real-life brother Rory. However don’t count on a cameo within the flesh as he simply seems in image type. The mom overlooking the horizon on a cliff, Mark passing by Richard’s empty room, the face the mom makes when Mark asks about Richard in an image body, the marital discourse about Richard, all of it factors to Henry and it’s tearing Susan aside.
Now right here’s when the sadistic, asshole meter begins to burst. Henry reveals Mark a life-size ragdoll by the title of Mr. Freeway. They take it above an overpass and Henry decides to push it off leading to a devastating pile up. Hell, even Henry decides to place his personal sister in hurt’s approach by throwing her into thinning ice, which just about kills her. What a jerk. He doubles down by blackmailing Mark, saying if he steps out of line, he can inform his mother and father that Mark made him do terrible issues. Oh, what a tangled internet Henry weaves.
Director Joseph Rubin was requested if he thought folks can be upset that Macaulay would say the F phrase on display to which director Joseph Rubin replied, “I like that second, it’s so surprising and so sudden, and that’s what motion pictures are for, if you wish to watch one thing secure, simply watch television. This film hopefully pushes issues to the sting. Mac bought a kick out of it, and I bought a kick out of it so we simply did it.”
It’s Henry’s mom Susan that finally decides to go in Henry’s clubhouse one morning and spots Richard’s rubber duck. The identical duck that was within the tub and went lacking after Richard drowned. Henry asks for the duck again, however an altercation occurs, elevating an alarm in his mother’s head that Henry was the one which killed Richard and Mark could also be telling the reality in any case. It’s an incredible reveal and actually sells the hazard.
Again on the home Mark pulls out some sharp scissors and threatens Henry with them. With the blade to Henry’s throat, Henry eggs him on to do it, however not earlier than Henry’s father walks in and locks Mark of their research and will get the therapist. Henry waits for his mom to return and asks to go for a stroll…. yea let’s see how that pans out. Mark sees them stroll off and breaks the window and chases after them. After admitting to his mother that he killed Richard, he runs off however clearly, it’s one other entice, as Susan, the mom walks down by the rock face to examine for Henry. Henry comes by way of the bushes like a battering ram and shoves her off the cliff however she manages to get miraculous hand placement and clings on.
Right here is the place the third act performs out and we lastly see that little asshole get his comeuppance. When Henry is about to deal the demise blow to his mom, Mark tackles him to the bottom, leading to Susan to climb again up. Whereas they roll round and tussle, they each wind up over the cliff however Susan grabs them each earlier than they will fall to their deaths. Throughout an interview with Yahoo, Elijah Wooden acknowledged that the third act was solely sensible. He and Macauley Culkin have been educated to be snug hanging from that very same cliff 180 ft above floor with a number of harnesses held by a safe crane. Laborious to think about it not being inexperienced display right now. Outdoors of those cliff scenes, the remainder of The Good Son was solely filmed in Massachusetts. The moments on the cliff nevertheless have been filmed off Lake Superior in Minnesota and was the absolute best alternative after weeks of location scouting.
And it really works splendidly. I imply, that is the setting for one of the crucial intense set items of the film, so it wanted to work. When Susan is compelled to make the choice of who she’s going to save lots of Mark or Henry, it’s a terrifying dilemma. However I imply, he’s nonetheless an absolute psychopath. So possibly the choice isn’t too troublesome.
The Good Son launched on September 24, 1993 and took in $12.5 million on its opening weekend. It will find yourself with over $60.6 million worldwide off a finances of simply $17 million. Not a foul end result particularly given the circumstances that it was an R-rated thriller with horror parts. To not point out a complete departure from Macauley’s family-oriented Dwelling Alone movies. Through the 90’s, making 60 million worldwide for an R-rated flick was an immense accomplishment and that was as a result of Macauley’s international standing as a box-office darling. The critiques, nevertheless, wouldn’t be so sort. In reality, everybody’s favourite evaluation aggregator Rotten Tomatoes presently has the movie at a measly 25%. Even nonetheless, the movie has many followers. Hell, why else would we be that includes it on this present?
The celebs of The Good Son have had fairly the movie careers since. Elijah Wooden has constantly been a staple of Hollywood, etching his legacy with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Elijah was all the time infatuated with the horror style rising up as a result of his older brother let him watch horror movies with out their mother and father understanding. He was joyful to develop movies for an grownup viewers whereas being a child as a result of he knew different baby actors on the time that have been solely in humorous, kid-oriented motion pictures movies. Elijah gravitated in the direction of the intense topic method in The Good Son. So it’s not a shocker to see what’s he’s gotten as much as these days… [Maniac]
Nevertheless, Macauley Culkin’s Hollywood star pale as he bought blended in with substance abuse and disappeared from the Hollywood scene for years till he just lately got here again and joined American Horror Story, Dollface, and The Righteous Gem stones. It’s good to see Macauley’s fall from grace get slowly again to his ft. You’d determine that each Elijah Wooden and Macauley Culkin hated each other throughout filming battling it out as the highest baby actor on the time, however they turned greatest mates throughout manufacturing, taking part in warfare with sticks In between takes. They nonetheless be in contact to at the present time and stay good mates. Their chemistry on-screen is extremely plausible, and the stress is palpable at any time when they arrive into battle with each other making their scenes actually memorable.
The Good Son has a extra execs than cons and serves as a horror/thriller hybrid. Henry’s intentions are in the identical vein as different “harmless trying” killer movies reminiscent of Unhealthy Seed, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and Mikey. There’s a creep issue to Henry, he lurks within the shadows from banisters, doorways, and staircases. He even units up his personal cousin in a recreation of cat and mouse. By the movie’s finish you begin to surprise Henry’s mindset – was it jealousy that crammed his coronary heart with rage and that he was not the focal point by his mom and father? Or was he, like Michael Myers, nothing however pure evil? Even worse is that Henry’s actions largely happen within the daytime which makes him extra of an evil bastard trying to get caught. It rides that wonderful line of horror/thriller so completely as a result of Henry personifies the monsters which are throughout the horror style. He may not slash and gash, however he certainly is aware of methods to manipulate, lie, torture, and kill like the perfect of them. Which is why The Good Son is the Greatest Horror Film You By no means Noticed.
A pair earlier episodes of the Greatest Horror Film You By no means Noticed collection will be seen beneath. To see extra, and to take a look at a few of our different reveals, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe whilst you’re there!