the good son movie reviews

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The good son, common sense media reviewers.

Creepy '90s thriller about murderous kid has violence.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Even people who seem sweet may be evil underneath.

Mark tries to keep everyone around him safe from H

The drowning death of a young child is mentioned s

"F--k" and "hell."

Parents need to know that the ironically titled The Good Son is an extremely tense and scary 1993 thriller that borders on the verge of horror. The twist here is the notion that a child can embody murderous evil. Despite the youth of the cast, younger viewers may find the boy's actions too disturbing. A woman…

Positive Messages

Even people who seem sweet may be evil underneath. Sometimes evil can be thwarted.

Positive Role Models

Mark tries to keep everyone around him safe from Henry's secret threat. Henry is self-absorbed and evil, certain no one will believe the truth about him.

Violence & Scariness

The drowning death of a young child is mentioned several times. A young boy's mother dies of an illness. A young girl is deliberately flung onto thin ice, which cracks as she falls into frigid water. She is rescued. A boy uses a homemade bolt-shooting crossbow to kill a dog. The boy also creates a human-sized doll that he throws onto highway traffic to maliciously create a 10-car pile-up. A woman is pushed off a cliff but survives. Two others fall over a cliff and one dies. A boy holds a scissor to another boy's neck. It's implied that a boy has poisoned his family's food.

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Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that the ironically titled The Good Son is an extremely tense and scary 1993 thriller that borders on the verge of horror. The twist here is the notion that a child can embody murderous evil. Despite the youth of the cast, younger viewers may find the boy's actions too disturbing. A woman's death by illness and a child's death by drowning are mentioned. Someone is pushed off a cliff and a dog is shot with a homemade crossbow. The dog's death is heard but not seen. A boy holds a scissor to another boy's neck. It's implied that a boy has poisoned his family's food. Expect to hear "f--k" and "hell." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (3)
• Kids say (10)

Based on 3 parent reviews

Darkest movie ever. Not for young kids!

Pretty obvious this one isn't for young kids, what's the story.

THE GOOD SON is Henry ( Macaulay Culkin ), a violent child who hides his disturbing desire to kill with politeness and seemingly sensible behavior. Dramatic tension is constant as viewers contend with the threat he poses while his parents have no idea about the destruction he's already caused and his plans for more dangerous antisocial behavior. The boy puts on an act of sweetness and empathy but at his core he's cruel, unfeeling, and murderous. As he lays groundwork to blame his crimes on his visiting cousin Mark ( Elijah Wood ), he makes the case that no adults will believe stories of what he's done. Henry argues that instead, such claims will be treated as vindictive lies and get the tattletale in trouble. Mark sees no way out except to try to defend and rescue Henry's parents and sister from the threat Henry poses to them. Spoiler alert: After an unrelenting 87-minute's worth of tension and worry, it may be reassuring to know that, at the last minute, Henry's evil is revealed and resolved, albeit violently.

Is It Any Good?

The Good Son is a well-constructed thriller that achieves sustained tension by means of deft direction, sharp plotting, and excellent performances, especially by two child actors, Culkin and Wood. Wendy Crewson as Susan, Mark's aunt and Henry's mother, gives a persuasive performance as a grieving parent still trying to give her love and support to her remaining children. Culkin was 13 at the time the movie was released but looks far younger, and Wood was 12. Despite the draw of young performers, some teens may find this too intense.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about what to do if a family member has mental problems. What would you do if you learned that someone close to you had mental health issues that caused the person to be violent?

How does this movie create tension? Did you find yourself hoping that adults would learn the truth about Henry?

What's the appeal of scary movies?

Movie Details

• In theaters : September 24, 1993
• On DVD or streaming : September 11, 2012
• Cast : Elijah Wood , Macaulay Culkin , Wendy Crewson
• Director : Joseph Ruben
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : 20th Century Fox
• Genre : Thriller
• Run time : 87 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : for acts of violence and terror involving a disturbed child
• Last updated : September 5, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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The Good Son (1993) Ending, Explained

Joseph Ruben’s (‘Sleeping with the Enemy’) 1993 psychological thriller ‘The Good Son’ is a beautifully-shot and deeply-unsettling film. Starring two of the most prominent child actors of the time, Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood, it is about the nature of evil and how looks can often be deceiving. Culkin’s angelic face juxtaposes the evil that is hiding within his character. Most of the film is set in a scenic port town of Maine, which, as it harbors a future serial killer, serves as a perfect metaphor for the movie’s primary antagonist. SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Good Son Plot Synopsis

The film opens with the death of Mark’s (Wood) mother (Ashley Crow). His father, Jack (David Morse), decides to go to Japan for a business deal that will settle him and his son for life. So, he travels across 11 states to put Mark in the care of Jack’s brother Wallace (Daniel Hugh Kelly) and his wife Susan (Wendy Crewson) for a couple of weeks. Mark is struck by how closely his aunt resembles his mother, although they are not apparently related. He meets his two cousins, Henry (Culkin) and Connie (Quinn Culkin).

Henry and Mark are of the same age, and by spending time with the other boy, Mark starts returning to his usual, happy self. But then he begins realizing that something is deeply wrong with Henry. He seems to have a macabre fascination with death, and continues to ask Mark, pointed questions about how his mother died. Henry also divulges several disturbing details about the death of his own brother, Richard (Rory Culkin).

When the adults are not watching, Henry starts showing psychotic tendencies around Mark. He kills a dog with a Ballista-type weapon and dumps its body into a well. Later, Henry causes a massive highway accident by throwing a human form off a bridge. He ensures Mark’s silence by making him complicit in each of his actions. When Henry tries to kill Connie by drowning her in a frozen pond, Mark decides to speak to his aunt about it.

While Susan initially doesn’t believe him, she does become suspicious of her son. Henry carefully manipulates others into believing that it is Mark, and not him, who is displaying psychotic tendencies. This leads to Wallace locking Mark in a room. Ultimately, Susan confronts Henry, demanding to know if he killed Richard. Seeing them heading towards the cliff, Mark becomes worried for Susan. He manages to get away from Wallace and runs after Susan and Henry.

The Good Son Ending

The climax of the film takes place on a cliff. Susan is understandably upset after learning that her one son killed the other. She is devastated and heartbroken but doesn’t let those emotions lead her to mindless anger. Instead, she tries to understand Henry and tells him that he needs help. But her soothing words seem to have the opposite effect than what she intended. Henry realizes that his mother is planning to institutionalize him.

So he leads Susan to the seaside cliff and pushes her off it, but she manages to cling to the edge. Henry picks up a rock and is about to drop it on his mother when Mark arrives. They fight and end up tumbling over the cliff together. After Susan pulls herself up, she at first tries to save both the boys. Even at that moment, Henry’s calculating mind is working. He keeps reminding her that he is her son and demands that she let Mark fall and pull him up.

These moments finally make Susan see that her son truly is a monster, and she makes a choice that will likely haunt her for the rest of her life. But at the same time, it is a choice for the greater good. If Susan did what Henry was asking her to do and let Mark fall and pull him up, her son would have survived. Henry would have grown up and become a raging psychopath or a mass murderer. Therefore, Susan’s actions on the cliff possibly saved several lives.

The Mother-and-Son Bond

Before her death, Mark’s mother Janice tells him that she will always be with him. Young as he is, Mark takes this quite literally. And after meeting Susan, his beliefs are affirmed that his mother has come back to him. For her part, Susan gladly accepts this, hoping to help this motherless child find his way back to his happiness. But when Mark tries to tell her that Henry was attempting to kill Connie, she immediately reminds him that Henry is her son. The accompanying slap must have hurt Mark, both physically and emotionally, and forces him to retreat into a cocoon of despair.

However, that doesn’t prevent him from coming to Susan’s rescue when he senses that her life is in danger. In the closing scenes, we learn that Mark has returned home. He remembers the choice that Susan made on the cliff on that day and wonders whether she would make the same choice if she had to do it all over again. Mark reveals to the audience that he will always be curious but never speak to her about it. While it might have been a purposeful choice on Susan’s part to save Mark and not Henry, the temptation would be too big if she has to go through those moments again.

Parents are hardwired to overlook their children’s shortcomings. At the start of the film, both Wallace and Susan are blissfully unaware that their son doesn’t have a basic sense of morality. The truly dangerous aspect of Henry’s psychopathy is his complete awareness of the ramifications of his actions. He takes pleasure in causing suffering and misery to other people. For Henry, death is a treasure trove of mysteries that needs to be explored.

Read More: Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time

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The Good Son Reviews

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

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 10, 2022

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.

Full Review | Jun 6, 2018

Creepy '90s thriller about murderous kid has violence.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 29, 2017

I guarantee you this would have been 100% more effective if Wood and Culkin switched roles

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | May 22, 2012

A second-rate thriller with first-rate production values.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 25, 2007

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

Full Review | 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.

A summer camp classic.

Full Review | Feb 9, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 10, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jun 6, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 20, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 0/5 | Jul 23, 2004

Not a good movie, but a creepy performance by Culkin rescues it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 16, 2003

An unintentionally uproarious melodrama; a must-see for fans of the truly terrible

Full Review | Original Score: 0/5 | Jul 15, 2003

The Good Son has a handsome, scenic look that sustains interest, and a suspenseful ending that is quite literally gripping.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 20, 2003

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | May 20, 2003

Almost worth it to see Macauly Culkin's demise. Almost.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | May 12, 2003

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 17, 2002

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 4, 2002

Not The Bad Seed but not bad.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 10, 2002

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The Good Son

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.

• Joseph Ruben
• Macaulay Culkin
• Elijah Wood
• Wendy Crewson
• 194 User reviews
• 50 Critic reviews
• 45 Metascore
• 1 win & 2 nominations

• Arizona Doctor
• Doctor in Blackport
• Factory Worker
• Woman Reporter
• Woman at Rescue

• Richard in Picture

• Child's Mother At Hockey
• (uncredited)
• Young Man Next to Swing Set at Park
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood became very close friends during production, and remain so to this day.
• Goofs When 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.

[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 versions The 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.
• Connections Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Striking Distance/Into the West/The Age of Innocence/Household Saints/Baraka (1993)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 27 minutes
• Dolby Stereo

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Where to watch

The good son.

1993 Directed by Joseph Ruben

Evil has many faces.

A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle, and befriends his cousin who's the same age. But his cousin begins showing increasing signs of psychotic behavior.

Macaulay Culkin Elijah Wood Wendy Crewson David Morse Daniel Hugh Kelly Jacqueline Brookes Quinn Culkin Ashley Crow Guy Strauss Keith Brava Jerem Goodwin Andria Hall Bobby Huber Mark Stefanich Susan Hopper

Director Director

Joseph Ruben

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Michael E. Steele Barbara M. Ravis

Additional Directing Add. Directing

Producers producers.

Mary Ann Page Joseph Ruben Michael E. Steele

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Daniel Rogosin Ezra Swerdlow

Writer Writer

Casting casting.

Deborah Aquila

Editors Editors

George Bowers Doron Shauly

Cinematography Cinematography

John Lindley

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Larry McConkey David Crone Peter Norman

Lighting Lighting

Marc Rogers

Additional Photography Add. Photography

Kenneth Zunder

Production Design Production Design

Art direction art direction.

Rusty Smith Sarah Knowles Keith Neely

Set Decoration Set Decoration

George DeTitta Jr. Ray Fisher Paul Richards

Special Effects Special Effects

Lisa Shaftel David Neil Trifunovich

Stunts Stunts

Jack Gill Joni Avery Rick Avery Gregory J. Barnett Kenny Bates Nick Brett Michael Cassidy Edward Conna Glory Fioramonti Gene Harrison Noon Orsatti Spiro Razatos Henry Kingi Debbie Lee Carrington Andy Gill

Composer Composer

Elmer Bernstein

Sound Sound

Stan Bochner Tom Fleischman Brian Vancho Richard King Susumu Tokunow Richard P. Cirincione Louis Cerborino Stuart Emanuel Bitty O'Sullivan-Smith Ira Spiegel Stuart Stanley Harriet Fidlow

Costume Design Costume Design

Cynthia Flynt

Makeup Makeup

Bernadette Mazur

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Francesca Paris Anthony Veader

20th Century Fox Tura-Film

Releases by Date

24 sep 1993, 19 jan 1994, 03 feb 1994, 14 feb 1994, 17 feb 1994, 04 mar 1994, 28 apr 1994, 07 oct 1995, releases by country.

• Theatrical M
• Theatrical 14
• Theatrical U
• Theatrical 16
• Theatrical M/12
• Theatrical 18
• Theatrical R

87 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

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"If I let you go, do you think that you could fly?"

In the Good Son Elijah Wood plays mark, a young boy who goes to stay with his uncle and his family after his mom passes away. At first this feels like the perfect getaway for Mark who will now get to spend his days having fun with this cousin of the same age Henry, played by Culkin. But Mark come to finds out that Henry is a truly spiteful kid, with a demented taste for fun. What is…

Review by lacie ½ 10

okay for real FUCK THIS MOVIE. This film traumatized me so much as a kid that i got obsessed with the moral dilemma of having to choose between saving two people falling off of a cliff simultaneously. like i would be in class as a damn first grader like, who would i save? mom or dad ? brother or younger cousin? etc. not saying this film CAUSED me to have an anxiety disorder but it certainly manifested some symptomology! (not to mention the fact that i literally weighed like 50lbs and still have no upper body strength so idk why i thought i would be rescuing adults cliff side) NOT TO MENTION that this film is the reason that i…

Review by theironcupcake ★★ 21

"Hey, Mark, where's your sense of humor?"

(Previous review here. )

Hi, all! I'm back on Unwatchables to chat with the always delightful Marc and Seth - hosts of my first-ever foray into podcasting from two years ago - about one of the most iconically terrible movies ever made, the real Home Alone 3, aka The Good Son. (Upgraded from a one-star rating to two stars with a heart, I'll have you know.) Listen on Spotify or any podcast platform; video will also be available soon!

Worth pointing out: you know immediately that Henry is evil because he's a morning person. He's actually eager to get out of bed and take on the world. Woof.

Lest you wonder if I was…

Review by matt lynch ★½

Two quick observations: 1) Macaulay Culkin was a terrible child actor, it's almost as if he isn't a native English speaker. 2) This couple's marriage is in trouble.

Discussed on Episode 55 of The Suspense is Killing Us .

Review by Craig Lumley ★★★½ 10

"You're not going to die mom. I promise, you're not going to die because I won't let you".

CUT TO: MOMS FUNERAL

This movie is set up right away as cruel dark joke. The main joke being what if we remade THE BAD SEED with the Home Alone kid? And it's pretty sweet.

Maybe I'm an easy mark, but Kevin Mcallister smoking, scheming, cursing and murdering? Folks to me, THATS ENTERTAINMENT!

AND there's a climactic battle on a cliff? This movie is awesome.

Nostalgia also plays into my enjoyment of this. My sister and I caught this when we were kids at one in the morning (a big deal at the time!) and were completely fucking enthralled. Once Culkin lit…

Review by comrade_yui ½ 3

literally the worst film score i have ever heard in my life. i want to smash the instruments, throats & hands of every single musician who produced it.

Review by megan ★★

i would have repeatedly hit macaulay culkin with a shovel until his brain matter splattered on the ground or something and he was dead for sure

Review by ele ★★½ 1

heyyyyyy children are really creepy and i want nothing to do with any of them

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• Twentieth Century Fox

Summary A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle and befriends his cousin, a boy of the same age who begins showing increasing signs of violent and psychopathic behavior.

Directed By : Joseph Ruben

Written By : Ian McEwan

Where to Watch

Macaulay Culkin

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Guy strauss, arizona doctor, keith brava, doctor in blackport, jerem goodwin, factory worker, andria hall, woman reporter, bobby huber, mark stefanich, susan hopper, woman at rescue.

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THE GOOD SON

What You Need To Know:

(B, H, L, M, VV) A moral though slightly humanistic worldview; 5 obscenities & 3 profanities; boy does evil deeds even attempted murder; several violent episodes resulting from deliberately planned events.

More Detail:

In THE GOOD SON, set on the rugged Maine coast, Henry Evans (Macaulay Culkin) is a seriously disturbed twelve-year-old who does evil deeds. His cousin, Mark, comes to live with his family following his mother’s death, and the boys enjoy each other initially. However, Mark soon becomes aware of evil in Henry after he deliberately kills a dog with an arrow-like weapon he conceals in an old shed. Henry does many other evil things, and Mark tries to tell different individuals but to no avail.

A basic premise of evil versus good weaves itself into the complicated fabric of human nature in THE GOOD SON. The question the film asks is “What makes a person bad?” However, it also asks, “Where does evil come from?” The Gothic film setting promotes a dichotomy of good versus evil. The fine, picturesque cinematography, suspenseful pace and timing, and competent acting on the parts of Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood make the film worth seeing–although not for children at all, since they will see one of their favorite actors perpetrating evil on people. But for those who like a good psychological thriller, THE GOOD SON could supply an evening’s enjoyment.

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THE GOOD SON

Ty Burr is a writer at large for EW and is no relation to Raymond or Aaron

Our culture insists on the innocence of children. Even the exceptions are proof: ”The Omen”’s Damien couldn’t be just a brat, he had to be Satan. But we know better, and so does The Good Son , a nasty and rich pop thriller that looks at a child and sees the numb blandness of a future serial killer. Directed by Joseph Ruben with the craft that made his 1987 film ”The Stepfather” a B classic, ”The Good Son” is ”Strangers on a Train” in knee pants.

The key to the movie’s power is that it stars a young actor with the talent to take us across emotionally raw terrain — but that actor isn’t Macaulay Culkin. Don’t get me wrong: Mac is fine and spooky here, but his performance stays well within the opaque limits staked out by the ”Home Alone” movies. It’s Elijah Wood, ”The Good Son”’s real star, who grabs our sympathy. As Mark Evans, sent to stay with his aunt and uncle in Maine after his mother dies, Wood balances fierce smarts and wounded sensitivity. At first, Mark holds his own with creepy cousin Henry (Culkin); they break windows, tease Henry’s kid sister — standard kid stuff. But Mark quickly sees that Henry’s cruelty is cold, logical, and unfathomably deep.

”The Good Son” delivers its knuckle-gnawing set pieces with a skill that makes other thrillers look logy. When Henry pushes his ice-skating sister onto the thin part of the pond, for example, the movie daringly stops in its tracks to listen to the ice bellow before giving way. But Ruben and his screenwriter, Ian McEwan, are most daring when they tap into something we rarely admit about childhood: Where most kids learn to temper any innate sadism with ethics, some just don’t. There are people who will despise the movie for that. Intentionally or not, it forces unpleasant connections — to what we know about Jeffrey Dahmer’s youth, for instance, or to increasingly frequent news photos of of blank-faced teen killers. They’ll despise it, too, because the movie presents its dark vision so well.

Make no mistake: There is artistry here, not least in the film’s resonant emotional undertones. In his grief, Mark becomes convinced that the spirit of his dead mom has entered his aunt Susan (Wendy Crewson), and ”The Good Son” develops into a tussle between him and Henry over Who Gets Mom. Anybody with siblings will relate, but Ruben ups the Freudian ante in the staggering climax by putting Aunt Susan in a position where she has to choose. She does so, and in a way that will hang in your mind for a long, long time.

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Netflix’s most addictive movie of 2024 is now streaming. Here’s why you need to watch it

Thrillers come in all shapes and sizes. There’s the psychological or serial killer thriller, which was popularized in the ’90s by The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en . There’s the erotic thriller, which had its heyday in the late ’80s and early ’90s with such hits as Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct . And then there’s the action thriller, which is probably the most popular offshoot of the genre right now, with the Taken series and Salt as prime examples.

The story everyone is after

A tense standoff, a killer cast, more than just an effective thriller.

Recently, there’s been a revival of a subgenre that’s been dormant since the 1970s: the journalism thriller. From Nightcrawler with Jake Gyllenhaal to the Oscar-winning Spotlight to 2022’s She Said, this type of thriller usually centers around journalists pursuing a controversial and sometimes dangerous story. One of the best journalism thrillers has just been released by Netflix : Scoop . In chronicling how the BBC managed to snag the scoop of the decade by interviewing Prince Andrew about his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the movie manages to be suspenseful, informative, and one of 2024’s most purely entertaining films.

If your memory is foggy, or if you don’t follow royal scandals or the news on a regular basis, here’s the real-life event that Scoop depicts. In late 2019, Prince Andrew was interviewed by British journalist Emily Maitlis about his decades-long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, a rich American financier who had been convicted of being a sex offender and, that August, had died under mysterious circumstances while in prison.

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The interview was aired on the BBC program Newsnight on November 19 and immediately received worldwide attention for Andrew’s odd explanations for his behavior and unwillingness to show any sympathy toward Epstein’s victims. For example, in response to an allegation that he sweated on an underage girl at a dance club, he asserted that he doesn’t sweat, ever , so that couldn’t possibly be true.

The consequences of the interview were devastating for Prince Andrew. After it aired, he was stripped of his royal titles and receded from public view. The royal establishment took yet another public beating, with some wondering why taxpayer money was funding a member who seemingly partook in illegal activities with Epstein and yet didn’t experience any legal ramifications. Almost everyone, both in the U.K. and across the world, asked the same question: why on Earth would someone as private and protected as Prince Andrew agree to such an interview in the first place?

Scoop is a two-hour-long answer to that question. It starts in 2010 in New York City, when an enterprising paparazzo photographs Andrew and Epstein together walking in Central Park, establishing a clear and public link between the two men. That picture is remembered by Sam McAlister (Billie Piper), a talent booker for the BBC, who smells a story developing with Epstein’s ongoing trial, subsequent conviction, and eventual death, which puts pressure on Andrew to address his controversial association with the sex offender.

Scoop presents two sides of the story: the BBC journalists, represented by McAlister, Maitlis (Gillian Anderson), and editor Esme Wren (Romola Garai); and the Royal Family, who, aside from Andrew (Rufus Sewell), is almost entirely run by Amanda Thirsk (Keeley Hawes), who is torn between duty and a gradual realization her boss is a sleazebag.

As we see the two sides circle each other warily, the movie’s director, Philip Martin, never lets up on the tension felt both within the opposing ranks as well as when they intermittently meet to decide on if, when, and how the interview will take place. It’s genuinely thrilling to see McAlister chase her story and for the other journalists to pick up the baton after her part is largely finished. As the interview is set up, Maitlis wryly observes that it feels like she’s going to a gunfight in an old Western movie. And that’s what the interview comes down to: two people facing each other, one armed with facts and the other with a ludicrous defense and a complete lack of awareness that he’s done anything wrong.

This kind of thriller doesn’t work if you don’t have a great cast, which is why Scoop is so effective. Anderson continues to add to her already impressive resume as Maitlis, who has to navigate the fine line between respecting the institution she’s investigating and getting answers to questions everyone in the nation has been asking for years. When Andrew casually wonders why everyone is so interested in his relationship with Epstein when he’s far better friends with Jimmy Savile (a DJ who was also a sex offender), Anderson gives an incredulous look to her producer that’s at once very funny and incredibly revealing. She can’t believe this guy is so delusional about the serious situation he’s in, and she uses that knowledge in her interview to let Andrew symbolically hang himself with his own rope.

It’s Piper, though, who impresses the most as McAlister. Armed with leopard print boots, bottle blonde curls, and a don’t-mess-with-me attitude, she sticks out among her conservative BBC peers, but it’s precisely her outsider status and her willingness to chase after a story when no one else dares to pursue it that makes her such a great character to follow. She’s the only one that Scoop allows us to see at home, where she confides to her mother about wanting to be seen as important and tries to guide her teenage son through the first pangs of romance.

Piper is probably best known in the U.S. for her work as the companion Rose Tyler on Doctor Who , but she’s quietly put together an impressive CV with standout performances in The Secret Diary of a Call Girl , Collateral , and I Hate Suzie . In Scoop , she leads an ensemble with an authority and brassiness that only a star could deliver. Scoop is revelatory in many ways, but perhaps its biggest shock to most audiences is just how good Piper is and how good she’s always been.

Like all good thrillers, Scoop is more than its subject matter. While it faithfully and expertly re-enacts the lead-up to, and quick production of, the interview with Prince Andrew, it also poses intriguing arguments about the state of journalism and the culpability of public figures to own up to their past sins. Everyone knows and respects the BBC, but that doesn’t make it profitable or competitive with other news outlets and social media, and it’s this conundrum — the need for relevance while still preserving a brand of integrity — that drives many of Scoop ‘s characters.

In addition, Scoop is in many ways a sister to Steven Spielberg ‘s The Post and She Said , to other movies about the need for journalism to hold public figures like Richard Nixon, Harvey Weinstein, and yes, the Royal Family, accountable for their actions. It’s not wrong to categorize Scoop as a thriller — its slick direction and propulsive score by Anne Nikitin and Hannah Peel more than supports that justification — but it’s also a great movie about the value and necessity of a free press in the 21st century. Who knew a dramatic retelling of a five-year-old interview could be so thrilling to watch and so rich to think about?

Watch Scoop  on Netflix now.

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Another weekend, another case of discovering that there are more great shows on Netflix than you could ever hope to watch. Not only are there too many great shows, but all of those great shows leave you with too many options, and you may wind up spending several hours just scrolling through the service instead of actually picking something to watch.

Thankfully, we've got you covered. We've gone through the annals of Netflix's history as a streamer and pulled out three great shows that flew way under the radar when they were first released. If you're looking for something great to watch on Netflix this weekend, look no further. These are three underrated Netflix shows you should definitely check out this weekend: Unbelievable (2019) Unbelievable | Official Trailer | Netflix

April is here, and with it, an existential question lingers: What are you going to do with yourself? If gaming is your thing, Dragon's Dogma 2 seems to be a good option for fans of the RPG genre. Or maybe you want to see two monsters destroy entire cities like in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire?

If staying at home is more your vibe, there's always streaming. Hulu has some of the best films around, and the following three movies are worth a watch this weekend. One is a tense 2010s thriller, another is a teen tom-com from the '90s, and the final recommended movie is a cheesy yet fun horror movie. The Dinner (2017)

April is here, and Netflix is still going strong in 2024. Blockbuster shows like The Gentlemen and original movies like Damsel made the streamer dominant in March, and this month will continue that streak with the debut of the thriller series Ripley and the investigative drama Scoop.

If you're looking for older movies that are just as good if not better, this list is for you. Digital Trends has compiled a selection of three underrated movies on Netflix that are worth watching this weekend. One's a black comedy from 2023, another is a killer 1980s thriller, and the last one is a charming rom-com.

Discovering good movies, one bad movie at a time

The Good Son (1993)

Synopsis: a young boy stays with his aunt and uncle, and befriends his cousin who's the same age. but his cousin begins showing increasing signs of psychotic behavior., connect with us.

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