A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle and becomes friends with his cousin, a boy of the same age who shows increasing signs of violent and psychopathic behavior.A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle and becomes friends with his cousin, a boy of the same age who shows increasing signs of violent and psychopathic behavior.A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle and becomes friends with his cousin, a boy of the same age who shows increasing signs of violent and psychopathic behavior.
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations
- Child's Mother At Hockey
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMacaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood became very close friends during production, and remain so to this day.
- GoofsWhen Henry and Mark are climbing the tree at the start of the film, a crew member can be seen, dressed all in black, helping Mark on to the platform.
- Quotes
[Susan walks alone with Henry in the woods to talk about Richard]
Susan: Henry?
Henry: Yes, Mom?
Susan: You have to tell me the truth now. What happened the night Richard died?
Henry: Don't you know?
Susan: I'd like to hear it from you.
Henry: I was downstairs playing.
Susan: [Susan gets down in front of Henry's face] Henry, don't lie to me, all right? Just don't lie to me. Now you tell me... Did you kill Richard?
Henry: What if I did?
Susan: Well, um...
Henry: What, Mom?
Susan: We'll get you help.
Henry: You don't look too good, Mom. Looks like you need the help.
Susan: You have to trust me, Henry.
Henry: No. No, I can't. You just want to send me away, don't you?
Susan: Why, no. No, I don't.
Henry: You wanna put me in one of those places.
Susan: No, Henry.
Henry: Well, I'd much rather die, you hear me? I'd much rather be dead!
Susan: Henry! Henry, no!
[Susan runs after Henry into the woods]
Susan: Henry? Henry!
Susan: [Susan runs to the cliff of the hill where Henry might've jumped off] Henry! Henry! Henry!
Henry: [Henry comes walking up behind Susan] Looking for me, Mom?
Susan: Oh, Henry.
Henry: You really thought I was going to jump, huh? I guess you don't know me very well, Mom.
[Henry runs to take a dash into Susan]
- Alternate versionsThe 1995 UK video version was cut by 33 secs by the BBFC to edit shots of Henry and Mark dropping a lifelike human dummy into a stream of traffic to cause a motorway pile-up, as this was considered a dangerous imitable technique. The cuts were waived for the 2002 version.
So I'm glad Hollywood took this step. I also, for the most part, like the way the step has been taken. B has no accomplices - he must battle A alone - and his plight is keenly felt. There's an air of plausibility about it all. Elijah Wood is an unusually good boy, Macaulay Culkin is an unusually bad boy; both look perfectly real. (Wood, who has the harder task, does especially well.)
The climax - or what is meant to be the climax - is HIGHLY contrived. It will probably come as a shock that the writers chose something at once so obvious and so ludicrous. The mood of the audience I saw this with - it may just have been my mood - was one of grudging acceptance, granted only because we had been treated so well in the events leading up to it.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $17,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $44,789,789
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $12,520,305
- Sep 26, 1993
- Gross worldwide
- $60,613,008
- Runtime1 hour 27 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1