The Parenting (2025)

 

The Parenting (2025)

 

4/10

 

Starring

Nik Dodani

Brandon Flynn

Parker Posey

Vivian Bang

 

Directed by Craig Johnson

 

I like the way the movie starts and how it tells you upfront not to expect it to be anything more than a comedy.

The Parenting is a horror-comedy movie with a very good premise, and all six characters we meet have very distinctive behaviours. Right from the get-go, you can see there are going to be clashes. Each actor brings their A-game, and the distinctiveness of their characters shines through in the way the cast portrays their characters. You’ll love watching Liddy, played by Lisa Kudrow, because she plays the role exactly like she played Phoebe Buffay in Friends.

The movie starts in 1983 when a family is (implied to be) killed by a creature in their house, now fast forward to the present, and a couple, Rohan and Josh, decide to host their families at this same house, which they rented from a certain lady. When the parents arrive, you can immediately see the personality clashes as Rohan’s parents are uptight, while Josh’s are not, and Rohan himself seems like a completely different person when his parents are around.

Then, during the family dinner, the horror starts when a creepy hand grabs Josh, startling him and making the whole family look at him oddly. Soon after, the movie shows us a faceless, creepy figure (resembling one of the people killed in the house in 1983) banging its head against a beam all night. Everyone mistakes the noise for one of the other couples having sex. To add to the chaos, one of Rohan and Josh’s friends, Sara, unexpectedly shows up at the house, to join the six people already there.

From here, the movie fully embraces the horror-comedy genre, but not in a good way. When Rohan’s dad, Frank, starts acting strangely because he was possessed, they decide to get help, and call for a snow plough because they’re snowed in. When Sara tries to get a shovel from the shed, another creepy figure, which was we know is also one of the victims from 1983, tries to grab her.

So now they’re trapped, seeing these creatures, and trying to find a way out. Meanwhile, Frank has attempted to kill Josh and his wife, before locking himself in a room.

At this time, I was starting to wish I was watching something else, because I did not find anything funny again happening and even though I didn’t fine the movie predictable, I was not excited to discover what will be next. And the pacing didn’t help things, because it moves quick and drops, quick and drops, I was just tired. Another issue I have is how the characters react to Frank’s behaviour, this is someone actively trying to kill them, and yet, they act way too cool about it. All these issues, negate all the positive things I had initially felt when I started watching the movie.

I don’t think the movie is okay—I wouldn’t recommend it and aside from everything I’ve already mentioned, the way it ends is so convenient and anticlimactic that it’s actually annoying.