Parents (1989)

Too many fans seem to be blown away

Sadly Over-hyped

People are voting emotionally.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Parents is an interesting, but flawed black comedy/horror flick. This takes place in suburban 1950's America and is a story of a disturbed young boy and his nightmares. Parents is a lot of things, psychological horror film, dark comedy and social satire. But as a whole, it doesn't always flow well. The film has a lot of surreal moments and does not always make sense. Parents is really inconsistent and choppy viewing as a whole and as a genre piece it is hard to put into one category, which is a good and a bad thing. It is good that it is a different offbeat movie, but the tone of the piece is all over the place. The story is really hard to follow and is very choppy as a whole. Parents has some things really going for it, great dialouge, creepy ambiance and an outstanding performance by Randy Quiad. The whole all American middle class family that are murderers and cannibals is very interesting, but better character development and story could have made this a whole lot better. Parents has more style than substance, but is still an interesting, but very quirky and weird film . This is recommended to those who revel to watch something offbeat or unusual, Parents would most likely please those audiences.

"Parents" is a movie about that feeling, about the conviction that after the kids are in bed and their lights are out, parents engage in weird rituals and unthinkable practices. What about those roars of laughter that come echoing down the hallway from the living room, for example: Are the grown-ups just having a good time, or are they holding their nightly planning session on how to play tricks on kids? "Parents" takes place in the 1950's, an ideal decade for this material, and stars Bryan Madorsky as Michael, a solemn, owl-faced little boy whose life centers on one question: What are the "leftovers" left over from? Night after night, his parents place steaming shanks of meat, juicy red slabs of prime roast, on his plate. Where do they come from? "Leftovers," his mom says. But then his mom and dad wink at each other over the table and share a secret laugh, and little Michael knows in his bones that there is something fundamentally wrong with the menu.The cinematography in this film works to the effect that the horror is conveyed in the most unlikeliest of places, on the contorted faces of the caregivers, (people this child should be able to trust), at the family dinner table, within the realms of the perfect family home. I loved the sets and the costuming, creating this soap commercial 50's world of perfectness, where horror can lurk behind every corner. There are plenty of shots of meat platters and mincing of meat, adding to the Grand Guignol of the whole affair. Knowing what could be on those plates is enough to churn even the strongest of stomachs as Michael observes his more than slightly sinister parents devouring each mouthful with revolting delight. Randy Quaid is superb in his portrayal of the father as he becomes more and more sinister in his son's observations, bullying and abusive. He is far from the perfect father image he wants the whole world to see. Mary Beth Hurt as mother Lily is the classic Stepford Wife who dotes on her family and worries over what creations to come up with for the families 'leftovers' as she so delicately names them ( the origin of which Michael is so desperate to know).Parents can be challenging to watch at times, given the subject matter, and obvious scenes in which psychological abuse occurs as the father tries to get a grip on the situation. It would seem that this is what bothered the critics of this movie the most, given that they saw it in poor taste. However challenging for me equals thought-provoking and I have to admit I really enjoy this type of film, yes it is distasteful, even more so as it is marketed as a horror/ comedy. On a comedy level there are no laugh out loud moments, as it is mainly sick and twisted, and on this point the film fails, but then it cannot be taken wholly seriously either, so it drifts in a netherworld of some sort of undefined sub genre of horror more like a bizarre sideshow spectacle with strong freakish overtones. Parents is certainly unique and unpredictable I will give it that though, and it keeps you guessing right up to the end.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

I liked this film, but I'm honestly torn between the aspects I liked and the obvious flaws. This film couldn't decide what it wanted to be. A dark comedy, a satire, a surrealist film, a thriller? In some ways, the film is a blend of all of these genres, but it sparsely executes any aspects of those genres effectively.There's not enough laughs for it to be a dark comedy. There's a scene in particular where a character is getting stabbed, whilst a '50s pop song plays. The delivery of the scene is like a thriller, yet the use of the song makes it feel like a comedy. I feel like an opportunity for some great dark comedy was missed (think Shaun of the Dead, with the use of the Queen song). The nods to '50s pop culture are cute at best. There's some suspense near the end, but we already know from the start that the parents are cannibals - so why was there a "big reveal" scene? The dream sequences are fun, but never really amount to much. It seems like the dreams were only added to make the audience think the lead character had a wild imagination, so that the "big reveal" scene would be even more shocking. Again, it's not really a secret that the parents are cannibals... the poster gives it away! The directing by Bob Balaban was quite good. Some fun takes, and great set up shots. Going back to the flaws though, it really feels like the director had a plethora of creative ideas, and wanted to fit them all in to one film. There's a a recurring theme of the colour red throughout... but then there's also a theme of the colour green... then both seem abandoned when the nearing the finale. It's like the director wanted to throw in some symbolism, or deep meaning, but then forgot about it due to focusing on another idea. It's sad, because I think Balaban is a creative director, and he went on to director a legit underrated cult classic - "My Boyfriend's Back". This film was more like a "my first cult film" than a true classic.The acting was great by all involved, especially Randy Quaid. The soundtrack was generally good, with the use of some '50s songs. The placement of the score was hit or miss though.Despite the flaws, there's something charming about the film. Maybe it's the '50s setting, or the surreal aspects, interesting direction, or even a surprisingly good performance from Randy Quaid. Whatever it is, this film has all the makings of a cult film... however, this is more like a cult not-so-classic.

I'm just getting ready to watch this but since there are so many other reviews I figured it would be OK if I didn't review it. However the first review that I read said it would be terrifying to watch a movie like this if you were at the age of the young boy in the movie. Let me just say that I DID watch this movie at that age and it scared the crap out of me. It was just so dark and weird. I have not seen it since but it has always stuck with me. I can't wait to watch it and see if it is still as scary as I remember.I remember a scene with tongues frying in a skillet that I can never forget.