The Good Daughter

The Good Daughter is a 1993 American psychological horror film directed by Joseph Ruben and written by English novelist Ian McEwan. It stars Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson and David Morse. It follows a young girl who stays with her aunt and uncle and befriends her cousin, a girl of the same age who begins showing increasing signs of violent and psychopathic behavior. The Good Daughter is the genderbent version of the 1993 American psychological film The Good Son.

 Plot 

12-year-old Marcie Evans has recently experienced the death of her mother, Janice. Heading for a business trip to Tokyo, Marcie's father, Jack, drives Marcie to the home of her uncle Wallace and aunt Susan in coastal Rock Harbor, Maine where she will stay during the winter break. Marcie is reintroduced to her extended family, including her cousins Connie and Henrietta. Marcie and Henrietta get along at first and Henrietta seems to be nice and well-mannered. However, Henrietta displays an abnormal fascination with death and her talk of the death of Marcie's mother and that of her deceased younger brother Richard, makes Marcie feel uneasy.

Henrietta begins to display psychopathic behavior, about which Marcie is unable to tell Wallace and Susan due to Henrietta's dark threats. One of Henrietta's violent actions is throwing a dummy off a bridge and on to the highway, causing a massive vehicle pileup. Later, Henrietta plans to kill Connie. Afraid that something might happen to her, Marcie spends the night in her room. The next morning, Marcie awakens to discover Henrietta has taken Connie ice skating. At the pond, Henrietta purposely throws Connie toward thin ice. The ice breaks and Connie nearly drowns but she is rescued and taken to the hospital. Despite not believing Marcie initially, Susan becomes suspicious and sitting in the dark, out of view, is able to interrupt Henrietta when he enters Connie's room, planning to suffocate her. Susan finds a rubber duck that Henrietta has hidden in the shed. It had once belonged to Richard and was with him in the bathtub the night he drowned, after which it went missing. When Susan confronts Henrietta, she coldly reminds her that the toy had belonged to her before it had belonged to Richard. Henrietta reverses her demeanor and kindly asks for the duck back but Susan refuses. Henrietta tries to take it from her and after a violent tug-of-war, she seizes the duck and runs to the cemetery where she throws it down a well.

As Susan and Marcie grow closer, Henrietta insinuates she will kill Susan rather than let Marcie continue developing a relationship with her. When a fight breaks out between Henrietta and Marcie, Wallace intervenes and locks Marcie in the den. Henrietta asks a suspicious Susan to go for a walk with her, while Mark escapes the den and chases after them. Susan confronts Henrietta, asking her if she killed her brother. Henrietta confesses that she did kill her brother by sarcastically replying, "What if I did?" Horrified by her daughter's true nature, Susan tells Henrietta that she needs help but Henrietta flees into the woods, possibly fearing she will end up in prison instead. Susan gives chase and upon arriving at a cliff, Henrietta shoves her over the edge. As Susan dangles precariously, Henrietta picks up a large rock she intends to throw down at her but Marcie intervenes and tackles Henrietta. They fight and Henrietta viciously tries her best to kill Marcie. Susan manages to pull herself up on to the clifftop and is just in time to lunge forward and grab hold of the boys as they roll over the edge. Lying flat on the rock she hangs on to both girls, one in each hand. Henrietta holds on with both hands but Marcie's one-handed grip begins to slip. With only enough strength to save one of them, Susan, now realizing the malevolence in Henrietta's nature, reluctantly releases her and she falls to her death. Susan pulls Marcie up from the ledge and they look down upon Henrietta's corpse on the rocks below, before it is washed away into the ocean and they both share an emotional embrace.

When Marcie returns home to Arizona, she reflects upon Susan's choice to save her instead of Henrietta and wonders if she would make the same choice again but knows it is something she will never ask her.

 Cast 

Henrietta Evans (female Henry Evans)

Marcie Evans (female Mark Evans)

Susan Evans

Connie Evans

Wallace Evans

Alice Davenport

Jack Evans

Janice Evans