The Parenting, 2025.
Directed by Craig Johnson.
Starring Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn, Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris, Parker Posey, Vivian Bang, Chloe Sciore, Kate Avallone, and John Hawe.
SYNOPSIS:
A couple rents a countryside house for a weekend with their parents and then discover it’s inhabited by a 400-year-old poltergeist.
In Craig Johnson’s gross-out comedy/campy supernatural horror blending The Parenting (scripted by Kent Sublette), Rohan (Nik Dodani) has arranged a countryside weekend getaway with his boyfriend Josh (Brandon Flynn), doubling as a meet-both-sets-of-parents family gathering, which he has neurotically scheduled to be packed full of fun and culminating with a marriage proposal. However, there are two problems: their dog sitter and Sara (Vivian Bang) have already inadvertently spoiled the surprise. The second issue is a much more pressing concern in that the eccentric Brenda (Parker Posey) renting out the house is willfully hiding a history of demonic possession within it.
A prologue gives us a glimpse of what to expect from that horror, showcasing a demon (typically from the perspective of a black, monstrous arm with a clawed hand) picking off an ’80s family one by one. Some of these jump scares and kills are shot from carefully considered angles, giving this opening section a welcome jolt. It’s not bloody nor is it trying to be genuinely scary or come close to capturing period piece authenticity (it’s a reasonably exaggerated look for the characters that resembles amusing cosplay more than anything), but there is stylistic shot selections and an eerie vibe with the house’s wallpaper vertically peeling off one section at a time.
That tone changes dramatically in the present day as Rohan and Josh joke about everything that could go wrong this weekend. And things do go south almost instantaneously as we are introduced to both sets of parents, perfectly cast couples of Dean Noris/Lisa Kudrow resembling the more carefree personality of Josh, and Edie Falco/Brian Cox as the accomplished adoptive parents of Rohan who have instilled a similar sense of strived excellence and perfection within him. Much of that comedy centered around the families interacting is decidedly broad and juvenile (everything from body parts to bodily fluids to other awkward scenarios are mined for laughs) or how different each couple is, but it simply lands, given this is a charismatic ensemble with pitch-perfect line delivery. It’s one of those cases where, at times, it’s funny enough that one almost doesn’t want it to make that transition back into its other genre mode.
Nevertheless, after some solid banter and mishaps, Brian Cox’s mellowed-out and mild-mannered Frank unknowingly opens his body up as a vessel for a demon seeking a human host. This means that, as usual for the genre, his behavior slips in and out of normal and becomes increasingly bizarre, playing into its comedic effect in a tone not far off from Scary Movie. However, the most accurate and straightforward way to put it is that this is a mostly effective matchup of Meet the Parents and exorcism tropes.
While this is undoubtedly fun, The Parenting gradually loses steam as the balance occasionally tips far over into generic horror plot machinations. Even though there are some memorable lines and gags (such as Dean Norris handling a possessed dog biting his wife’s hand or the general pleasure of watching Brian Cox switch between upstanding and crass), the proceedings sometimes drag. This is also where the campiness slowly begins to lose some of its appeal, with a climactic stretch that is cheap and forgettable. In the film’s defense, there is a mid-credits stinger where the characters acknowledge how goofy the demon’s appearance was. Some jokes also grow stale, such as the demon’s rampant gay jokes that are humorously explained away as him coming from a different generation.
The cast, specifically the parents, are carrying The Parenting. That’s not to take anything away from Nik Dodani and Brandon Flynn, who are also charming and find their characters having their love tested across family dysfunction and supernatural hauntings while realizing that each is an embodiment of their parents. It’s more that the treasured veterans bickering and bouncing zany, sometimes crude dialogue off one another is a delight. It’s worth watching alone for anything Dean Norris quips.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
