SummaryA couple rents a countryside house for a weekend with their parents and then discover it's inhabited by a 400-year-old poltergeist.
Directed By:Craig Johnson
Written By:Kent Sublette
The Parenting
Metascore
Mixed or Average
45
User score
Mixed or Average
4.9
My Score
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Metascore
Mixed or Average
45
30% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
50% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
20% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Mar 13, 2025
75
Director Craig Johnson and screenwriter Kent Sublette (“Saturday Night Live”) find a nice balance for the boo-surprises, creepiness, and humor, with a resolution that brings everything and everyone together.
Mar 12, 2025
70
The Parenting, which boasts an impressive cast including Brian Cox, Parker Posey, and Edie Falco, takes itself just seriously enough to maintain the impact of both the horror and the comedy, and while it doesn't end up being the most original or breathtaking thing you ever saw, it makes for a fun ride with a lot of character and plenty of heart.
User score
Mixed or Average
4.9
30% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
40% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
30% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
Mar 17, 2025
5
With a cast that includes Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris and Parker Posey, you’ve already got a head start for this comedy thriller. The story revolves around a couple (Nik Dodani & Brandon Flynn) who have rented a vacation home so they can meet each other’s parents. Turns out that the house is possessed and creepy things start happening. There are one or two minor jump scares, but this film is more about the funny. Sadly, there aren’t lots of outright jokes, even though each cast member gets a moment for comic fun. Ultimately, there aren’t sufficient scares to make a good thriller and not enuff laffs to keep it funny. Even so, it would have fallen flat without this cast. NOTE: There’s one final mid-credit scene, but not really worth the wait.
Mar 13, 2025
4
"The Parenting" which is shot and directed like a sitcom episode runs on (good, awkward, creepy) vibes, which is probably why Parker Posey, who plays the home’s “mysterious” owner and exposition dispenser, injects energy into the film just by being her off-kilter self. . . Unfortunately, The Parenting isn’t a hangout movie where tone can reign supreme.
Mar 12, 2025
60
The film, which bows on Max on March 13, is low on genuine scares, but it does boast an appealing cast, whose comic chops elevate the flick slightly above the standard streamer slush.
Mar 13, 2025
42
Shot and directed like a sitcom episode, The Parenting runs on (good, awkward, creepy) vibes, which is probably why Parker Posey, who plays the home’s “mysterious” owner and exposition dispenser, injects energy into the film just by being her off-kilter self. . . Unfortunately, The Parenting isn’t a hangout movie where tone can reign supreme.
Mar 13, 2025
40
As a comedy, it stops being funny and as a horror it never starts being scary with Johnson’s direction far too drab and lifeless for something so cartoonish and schlocky. Big swing, bigger miss.
Mar 12, 2025
35
A dismal misfire that strains to meld Meet the Parents-style comedy with The Exorcist-grade horror.
Mar 13, 2025
30
The cast is game — especially Cox, who gets to do some over-the-top Linda Blair mugging — but the script, by a “Saturday Night Live” writer, Kent Sublette, is puerile and abrasive, lacking the wit of “Evil Dead” (an obvious influence) and the brio of “Scary Movie.”
Aug 16, 2025
3
Great cast wasted on an absolutely terrible script. Parker Posey is the best thing about this movie because she manages to rise above the horrible writing with her comically exaggerated performance. It’s just not funny apart from that and the two main characters are written in an extremely unlikable way. Wouldn’t recommend.
Mar 15, 2025
2
Um besteirol dos grandes, e ainda força com piadas escrachadas de "p**". Claro, tendo como protagonistas dois gays, parece que o roteiro até tenta, mas não se desvencilha de criar estereótipos sexuados (ainda que tenha certa naturalidade bem vinda na relação). Os efeitos são bem toscos, então o jeito é tentar ir pela comédia mesmo, porque pelo terror é bem ruinzinho, com uma história capenga de vocação de demônio e um ápice cuja resolução é ridícula. Parece até da Netflix.
Production Company:
- New Line Cinema
- Good Fear Content
- Mighty Engine
Release Date:Mar 13, 2025
Duration:1 h 34 m
Rating:R
Tagline:Meeting the parents... it's a necessary evil.
Awards
America's Rainbow Film Festival (ARFF)
• 2 Nominations
GLAAD Media Awards
• 1 Nomination
The Queerties
• 1 Nomination
