tdrish 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!

Michael_Elliott 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.

triggerhappyguy 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.

Cassandra Kelsey Horror movies often exploit what is familiar, mundane and safe to us in order to shake up our sense of security, playing on this ingrained sense of security to generate fear. Halloween did it using a home, Ringu did it using a TV set, Parents gets literal with the familiar and uses ...well parents. Randy Quaid's performance is something to behold, his quirky chipper exterior belies something very dark and unpleasant indeed. There are several dream-like sequences in this movie which are deliciously ghastly. Powerful themes are at work here which will touch and unsettle anybody at a base level- revulsion at parents as sexual entities, the powerlessness and frustration of childhood it's all quite Freudian but in a most entertaining way. If the object of any horror movie (this is certainly a horror movie) is to scare then Parents is probably going to fall short of instigating terror in a hardened horror fan like myself. I did find it unbelievably creepy and pervasive however, this movie does cleverly tap into the childhood fears I'd forgotten about and for that it succeeds where so many more contemporary films will fail spectacularly (Mama springs to mind) The period setting and music in this movie are wonderful, the score (by Angelo Badalamenti of Twin Peaks fame) is perfectly tuned to the themes and narrative. Sound is so very important in horror and when it's right it can make the difference between a scary movie and a boring one. Overall Parents is a very enjoyable film, it's funny, clever and gruesome what more could you possibly want?