History YMMV / TheGoodSon

* TheScrappy: [[AdultsAreUseless Wallace]] is not well-liked due to refusing to believe his nephew about his son, even locking him up after Henry pulls a WoundedGazelleGambit.

* AngstAversion: Even those who have praised the film admitted that it was too intense to sit through. The fact that a ''baby'' is murdered (albeit off-screen) doesn't help either.

* TheScrappy: [[AdultsAreUseless Wallace]], since he refuses to believe his nephew about his son, even locking him up after Henry pulls a WoundedGazelleGambit.

* EvilIsCool: Henry himself. Even those who disliked the film agreed that he was quite memorable, claiming that Macaulay Culkin ''nailed it'' in his portrayal

* AngstAversion: Even those who have praised the film admitted that it was too intense to sit through. The fact that a ''baby'' is murdered (albeit off-scream) doesn't help either.

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Wallace is the most dislikable character in the film due to both his [[AdultsAreUseless stupidity]] in failing to recognize his son's ObviouslyEvil behavior and his borderline abusive treatment of his nephew. On the other hand, Henry himself is beloved by viewers due to Macaulay Culkin's disturbingly authentic portrayal of a sociopathic killer. It also helps that Henry at least [[KarmicDeath gets his comeuppance]] at the end of the film, whereas Wallace [[KarmaHoudini completely gets away with]] his actions of borderline child abuse.

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Wallace is the most dislikable character in the film due to both his [[AdultsAreUseless stupidity]] in failing to recognize his son's ObviouslyEvil behavior and his borderline abusive treatment of his nephew. On the other hand, Henry himself is beloved by viewers due to Macaulay Culkin's disturbingly authentic portrayal of a sociopathic killer. It also helps that Henry at least gets his comeuppance at the end of the film, whereas Wallace completely gets away with his actions of borderline child abuse.

* WTHCastingAgency: The film was criticized for choosing Macaulay Culkin to play the main villain since he was famous for his leading roles in kid-friendly films and ContractualPurity. While Culkin's performance isn't his best, he is the best fit for the role since Culkin's career was weaponized to fool the audience into believing he's the hero or at least innocent in the story. While this would reflect the traits of a sociopath (playing innocent to lure in victims or to evade consequences), this was the movie's downfall as people genuinely thought the movie was directed at kids due to Culkin's presence and were outraged by the manipulative marketing.

* LoveToHate: Macaulay Culkin's portrayal of a psychopathic preteen was so realistic that viewers found Henry to be highly memorable.

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Wallace is the most dislikable character in the film due to his [[AdultsAreUseless stupidity]] in failing to recognize his son's ObviouslyEvil behavior and his borderline abusive treatment of his nephew. On the other hand, Henry himself is beloved by viewers due to Macaulay Culkin's disturbingly authentic portrayal of a sociopathic killer. It also helps that Henry at least gets his comeuppance at the end of the film, whereas Wallace completely gets away with his actions of borderline child abuse.

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Wallace is the most dislikable character in the film for both his [[AdultsAreUseless stupidity]] in failing to recognize his son's ObviouslyEvil behavior and borderline abusive treatment of his nephew. On the other hand, Henry himself is beloved by viewers due to Macaulay Culkin's disturbingly authentic portrayal of a sociopathic killer. It also helps that Henry at least gets his comeuppance at the end of the film, whereas Wallace completely gets away with his actions of borderline child abuse.

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Wallace is the most dislikable character in the film for both his [[AdultsAreUseless stupidity]] in failing to recognize his son's ObviouslyEvil behavior and borderline abusive treatment of his nephew. On the other hand, Henry himself is beloved by viewers due to Macaulay Culkin's disturbingly authentic portrayal of a sociopathic killer. It also helps that Henry at least gets his comeuppance at the end of the film, while Wallace completely gets away with his acts of borderline child abuse.

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Wallace is the most dislikable character in the film for both his stupidity in failing to recognize his son's behavior and borderline abusive treatment of his nephew. On the other hand, Henry himself is beloved by viewers due to Macaulay Culkin's disturbingly authentic portrayal of a sociopathic killer. It also helps that Henry at least gets his comeuppance at the end of the film, while Wallace completely gets away with his borderline child abuse.

* CompleteMonster: [[EnfantTerrible Henry Evans]], having a disturbing attraction towards death and the idea of murder, built a philosophy around himself that stated that if people were to rid themselves of their morals, then they are free to do any evil acts that they wanted to do without such concepts holding them back. Prior to the main plot, Henry murdered his own younger brother in the bathtub [[DisproportionateRetribution just because he had happened to be playing with a toy that belonged to him]]. He then goes on to convince his cousin, Mark, into helping him throw a dummy dubbed "Mr. Highway" from a bridge, resulting in massive car accidents. He also [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals shot and killed an innocent dog with a nail gun]] from a distance and he also attempted to drown his sister in a frozen lake when they were skating together. When Henry's mother was beginning to realize that her son was a remorseless sociopath, she decided to send him to a mental institution so that he could get the help that he needed. Unwilling to lose his freedom to do bad, Henry decided that his family [[SelfMadeOrphan needed to die]] so that he could be free to do whatever he wanted.

* TheScrappy: Wallace, since he enforces the AdultsAreUseless trope, refusing to believe his nephew about their son, even locking him up after Henry pulls a WoundedGazelleGambit.

* TheScrappy: Wallace, ''so much'' as he enforces the AdultsAreUseless trope, refusing to believe his nephew about their son. He really crosses the line, though, when he locks up his nephew after Henry pulls a WoundedGazelleGambit. Almost makes you ''wish'' Henry would kill him next.

** "Hey Mark,...don't fuck with me." Just hearing that from a child is kind of funny in its own way.

* EsotericHappyEnding: There is a good chance that Mark could be sent to a juvenile detention center after the events of the movie as everyone, except Susan, has written him off as a nutcase due to Henry's manipulations. Furthermore, Susan could get into serious problems with her marriage the minute she tries to explain to her husband what happened to Henry. Also, even if Mark's name gets cleared and Susan's marriage escapes unscathed, she could end up gradually resenting him later on because by choosing the life of her husband's nephew over that of her remaining son, Susan destroyed any hope of rehabilitating her own flesh and blood.

* IdiotPlot: If the characters would ''just'' take a look at Henry's actions, not be fooled by his [[ObviouslyEvil obvious]] sociopathy and apathy, or just were able to figure out when he's acting, the plot would have fallen apart.
* MoralEventHorizon: Henry ''drowned his baby brother''. [[DisproportionateRetribution Over a]] ''[[DisproportionateRetribution toy]]''.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: When Henry shoves his mother off the cliff at the end and she catches a branch halfway down, the cable holding her up is clearly visible.

* HeReallyCanAct: Macaulay Culkin, who is mostly known for playing comedic and mischievous kids, absolutely nails his portrayal of a psychopathic monster with zero empathy as Henry Evans. He delivers quite a few lines with a very chilling tone.

* UncannyValley: Mr. Highway's design is disturbing.

* CatharsisFactor: [[spoiler: Considering how much of a vile little shit Henry is, this is one of those very rare occasions people wouldn't mind seeing [[AdultFear a child die]].]]

* CompleteMonster: [[EnfantTerrible Henry Evans]], having a disturbing attraction towards death and the idea of murder, built a philosophy around himself that stated that if people were to rid themselves of their morals, [[ChaoticEvil then they are free to do any evil acts that they wanted to do without such concepts holding them back]]. Prior to the main plot, Henry murdered his own younger brother in the bathtub [[DisproportionateRetribution just because he had happened to be playing with a toy that belonged to him]]. He then goes on to convince his cousin, Mark, into helping him throw a dummy dubbed "Mr. Highway" from a bridge, resulting in massive car accidents. He also [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals shot and killed an innocent dog with a nail gun]] from a distance and he also attempted to drown his sister in a frozen lake when they were skating together. When Henry's mother was beginning to realize that her son was a remorseless sociopath, she decided to send him to a mental institution so that he could get the help that he needed. Unwilling to lose his freedom to do bad, Henry decided that his family [[SelfMadeOrphan needed to die]] so that he could be free to do whatever he wanted.

** "Hey Mark,...don't fuck with me." Just hearing that from a child is kind of funny in it's own way.

* InferredHolocaust: There is a good chance that Mark could be sent to a juvenile detention center after the events of the movie as everyone, except Susan, has written him off as a nutcase due to Henry's manipulations. Furthermore, Susan could get into serious problems with her marriage the minute she tries to explain to her husband what happened to Henry. Also, even if Mark's name gets cleared and Susan's marriage escapes unscathed, she could end up gradually resenting him later on because by choosing the life of her husband's nephew over that of her remaining son, Susan destroyed any hope of rehabilitating her own flesh and blood.

* WhatAnIdiot: Mark not realizing that Henry was planning on dropping Mr Highway when he was instructed to hoist him onto the wall of the bridge. What else was Mark thinking when they placed Mr Highway on the bridge wall? Just leave him there? Granted, yes he's a kid, but still.