Parents

Young Michael (Bryan Madorsky) notices his parents have a strange fondness for meat and wonders where all the meat they eat for dinner comes from. And what goes on after he goes to bed.

Exceptionally well acted and crafted horror-comedy that takes place in the 1950's. The sets, costumes, style, detail paid to flavor of the 50's, and the cars & houses will WOW you and give you a feeling of nostalgia. A nice change of pace for Randy Quaid and it is nice to see Sandy Dennis at work again.

Be forewarned though this is one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen in my entire life. There is absolutely no letup.

My rating: 9 out of 10.

I had never heard of this movie before, and it looked like it had the same sort of weird zany surrealism as Society, which I massively enjoyed. What I was not expecting was how much darker in tone this film was going to be, and how massively uncomfortable it can be at times with some of the thematic undertones.

It taps into the inherent surreal nature of 1950's idyllic suburbia and builds wonderfully off of that horror, as well as delving into the true horror of being stuck in the same house as people who might want to hurt you. While there was a lot that just didn't hit and some spots where I felt the movie lacked, overall I found the movie to be interesting and kind of fun.

This movie is definitely not for everyone and is bound to disappoint quite a few horror fans, but for those that like surrealism in the vein of Society, this is definitely worth the watch. It's a solid movie and even if it's not the best out there, it has some merit as a film and some solid thematic undertones.

Years go by and I still adore Parents and make sure to watch it every so often. Impeccable casting, including a never-better Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, and Sandy Dennis, truly energizes the film. Preteen lead Bryan Madorsky has become a personal hero of mine, perfectly capturing the essence of fear and revilement that ten-year-olds can develop for their seemingly monstrous parents. Unfortunately for Madorsky's character Michael, his parents truly are monsters. I love the burgeoning friendship/romance between the two young kids, particularly in the telling sequences where they get drunk and end up in the freezer and where they speculate on the secret lives of their parents. And any movie that uses Perez Prado's "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" over the opening credits is peachy in my book.

This film is a real treasure in modern horror! This was one of the first good american horror films to come out in a while, a real first class effort. The creators went to the limits of their budget to make this dark story work. The period settings are flawless in their interpretation of early suburban banality. The horror is understated but reveals itself just at the precise moments. The child who plays the emotionally assaulted protagonist is amazing. His speech at school during show and tell is one of my favorite horror scenes of all time and there isn't a single monster or drop of blood in it. This film should be on everyone's "to see" list.

Interesting movie, but far from a total success. The director uses his camera cleverly and executes some fine visual tricks, but they don't lead anywhere, because the film has such an "one-joke" premise and a repetitive script. Great music score, astonishingly mature work by the boy who plays the central character, a few scares at the end, but the movie still rings hollow, and gets no more than a 6/10 from me.