The Parenting

If you’re looking for the perfect weekend movie that blends horror and comedy in all the right ways, The Parenting absolutely delivers. This film strikes a delicate balance, just enough jump scares to keep horror fans on edge, while packing in plenty of LOL worthy moments that make it a joy to watch. The film was premiered directly on HBO Max. With a simple premise and all the characters having their own quirks, this was a mindless entertainer joy ride right from the get-go.

The film starts in 1983, where see a family of 3 being suddenly abducted by haunted power and they mysteriously disappear. Cut to current time and we meet Josh and his boyfriend Rohan who have rented the same house in the countryside for a weekend with both their families. They’ve planned this short trip to introduce themselves to each other’s parents, and their parents to one another, but Rohan has also been secretly planning to propose to Josh. The situation predictably goes awry: Rohan is tense and nervous, Josh doesn’t impress Rohan’s judgmental mother, the two sets of parents have little in common. As shown in the beginning that the house is haunted by a demon, so Rohan's father Frank becomes its human host after reciting the Wi-Fi password — a suspicious Latin phrase — one too many times. As Frank inexplicably levitates, vomits, and hurls torrents of verbal abuse, the motley crew bands together to fight off the demon. In the midst of this chaos the gay couple's friend Sara also shows up at the house and so begins the hilarious turn of events where we see Demon playing different tricks on the mind and how this group son people who have been thrown together circumstantially for this loving gay couple try to ward off the evil and figure out what really is going on.

Josh and Rohan as the central loving nervous couple are perfect for their roles. They play their roles of a gay couple madly in love but also the first time jitters of 'Meet the parents' is quite well established. The film establishes at the onset that Rohan was adopted by this white couple (which I am not sure, why this was necessary, as it was inconsequential). The two sets of parents is played by seasoned actors which you will all recognize from their various previous work. These actors find laughs by cannily underplaying their parts, and their idiosyncrasies through well-timed cutting of dialogue and reaction shots. the film does a decent job of capturing the awkwardness of two very different families meeting for the first time. There's some genuine discomfort in those early scenes, and a few lines that feel painfully real. The details of why this particular house is possessed by a demon, and how to exorcise it, are overexplained, involving numerous flashbacks, a dusty book of spells found in the basement, and an origin-story monologue given by the house’s kooky, mysterious owner played by Parker Posey. She manages to consistently find this balance between odd and terrifying that had you entertained but also greatly concerned. With her and the other great cast involved, this film makes for a fun weekend movie watch.

While there’s no doubt this is a fun romp, the film’s main problem is its completely generic narrative. If this were an out-and-out spoof then this would be less of a problem, but this is a film that requires a steady stream of jokes and comic set pieces to maintain its forward momentum. Sadly that doesn't happen making it only half-funny, half-interesting and also only half-scary. Honestly the only reason I saw this was because of the LGBTQ+ representation, although I do wish that the coupe stood out a little more. They somehow get lost between the veteran actors playing the parents. They come across as likeable but bland, and their personalities are so similar that they start to blur together. Overall a decent campy fun that you will enjoy while you watch but wont take much back with you. (6/10)