Parents (1989)

Memorable, crazy movie

As Good As It Gets

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I'm taking another trip down memory lane, to review the 1989 movie Parents. I was only 14 when I watched this, and I will have no desire to see this again. Odd, but quite entertaining. What will you think of it? I will give you a few warnings, before I get to the review, so that you will be quite aware of what you are getting yourself into. This in mind, I wouldn't want you wasting your time with this, if its not what you are expecting. If you are expecting, for example, a gore-hound movie, with countless scenes of people gnawing away on other people like zombies, just because you found out this is a film about canabalism, let me save you some time: this is NOT that type of film. Although the violence can be strong from time to time, this film is actually quite tame, and the gore is done surprisingly tastefully. So the focus is not on the violence in Parents, am I clear? Where is the focus? Well, let's start by saying that this takes place in the 50's. A time of innocence. Who would suspect people eating people in the 1950's? This is what makes the film unique. The only person who suspects anything, is their own son, about eight years old. He is allowed to eat in the same room as his parents, however, he eats a separate table, and his food is prepped up differently. He befriends a little girl around his age, but he's afraid to say anything to her. Or anyone, for all that matter. He doesn't want to think of his parents as his arch enemies, but it's becoming clear to him that something is wrong. That being said, at the core of it all, this film possesses extreme emotional depth, almost even moving, because we begin to feel the fear that he's feeling. There's even a bizarre scene where he begins to fear food, and thinks he's being attacked by a string of sausage in the pantry, where he was trying to spy on his parents, figuring out what's going on with what they're cooking on the stove. The movie is a dark comedy, but it leans way much more on the serious side of dark comedy, rather then the slapstick or nonsense black comedy, making this a very respectable film. Director Bob Babalan seems to handle almost every scene with care, there is only one scene in the entire film that I had a problem with. The boy is looking up the tree at the little girl sitting on a branch, and we get almost a close up shot up the girls skirt, revealing her panties. Although this was done, I am sure, meant as a very innocent and harmless manner, I just couldn't understand how the movie would have been just fine, without this one scene. Sure, there's nothing sexual about it, but some viewers may, with pedophilia running rampant, and that's the part I cannot cope with...the thought that this was a child being exploited during the filming of all this. The only justification I have, is that the film does an excellent job of capturing the "through the eyes of a child" feeling. And never under estimate how disturbing this movie will be, right down to the shocking climax of it all. Altogether, I think Parents has problems, but just like life, all parents have problems. Let's just be glad that hopefully your parents don't have the same problems these folks do. 6 out of 10 stars!

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 (1989) *** (out of 4)Michael (Bryan Madorsky) moves to a new town with his parents (Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt) and before long he starts to notice that there's something not quite right with them. The more Michael starts to understand the more he begins to think that his parents are cannibals.PARENTS is a film that I saw in my local VHS store countless times growing up but I never bothered to rent it. It was on cable countless times I again I never got around to watching it. I got the DVD but never watched it. Finally, nearly thirty-years after it was made, I finally watched the movie and I must admit that I'm disappointed in myself for not watching it earlier. If you're looking for a masterpiece horror film then this obviously isn't one but if you're looking for something a bit different then you should enjoy what this offers.What I liked the most about this film is the fact that it was set in the 1950s and it reminded me a lot of the films from that era. The main theme is that the kid finds his parents to be weird, which is something that a lot of kids think about their parents. I thought this film perfectly captured that sense of a kid's fears quite nicely and best of all is that the film reminded me of those in the 50's that dealt with the same thing. INVADERS FROM MARS certainly comes to mind but there were others as well.This film really benefits from some very good performances by everyone in the cast but especially the three leads. Quaid and Hurt are both fantastic as the parents as they perfectly play up the weirdness of the couple without having to go over-the-top or resort to any type of camp. Their performances are very realistic and I enjoyed the nature of both. Madorsky was a real find as he's excellent here and in all reality he actually carries the picture. I thought he was a lot of fun as was Sandy Dennis and London Juno.Director Bob Balaban does a very good job with the material and he keeps the film moving at a nice pace. There's a mix of horror and comedy here but one is never stronger than the other and this style and atmosphere is certainly a lot different than what most horror films from this period were delivering. Fans of non-stop blood baths might be disappointed but those who enjoy a more offbeat film should enjoy PARENTS.

I found out about 'Parents' after watching 'The Children'. I was more curious when I had found out that Bob Balaban had directed it. Was it worth the watch? Yes. Balaban really succeeds in creating a tense chilling atmosphere. Moreover, the 50s suburban setting was refreshing. The sound effects are used effectively. He cleverly includes the stereotype that people have of those who lived in 50's suburbs into the story. The mom and dad characters appear to be your typical all American family but nothing is as it seems on the surface. In addition, to show the film from the perspective of a child is an innovative idea and it also keeps the viewer in suspense because of the lingering question as to whether his suspicions were correct. The humour also works Balaban uses many interesting references like the scene where the kid's splashing in blood reminds one of the highlight scene from Kubrick's 'The Shining'. The performances are first rate. Randy Quaid and Mary Beth Hurt are fantastic as the 'perfect' couple. Bryan Madorsky too does a competent job in carrying the film. 'Parents' is a solid but underrated 'slasher' film. Strongly recommended to fans of the genre.