Macaulay Culkin's comic treatment of the Home Alone burglars ably demonstrated his sadistic streak but here his cruelty is played very straight, with genuinely creepy results. He plays an outwardly friendly youngster who takes a murderous dislike to his cousin (Elijah Wood), who comes to stay when his mother dies and his father is away on business. Sadly, despite its controversial subject matter - the UK video release was delayed because of the tragic Jamie Bulger murder case - there's little attempt to explain Culkin's psychopathic behaviour. However, Wood is superb as the tortured Mark, and director Joseph Ruben lays on some slickly scary moments.

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.