The Parenting

Play trailer

2:14

The Parenting

2025

1h 40m

Horror

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

47%

Tomatometer

36 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

A hilariously terrifying comedy, THE PARENTING follows young couple Rohan and Josh as they plan a perfect weekend getaway in the country to introduce their parents. As tensions begin to flare between the more traditional Sharon and Frank and the laid-back Liddy and Cliff, the families soon realize that their rental -- managed by eccentric local Brenda -- is haunted by the presence of a 400-year-old poltergeist. When one parent becomes thoroughly possessed, it's up to the young couple and their meddlesome BFF Sara to unite the families and stop the evil entity once and for all.

Watch on Max

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Playing in the well-worn horror-comedy sandbox, Craig Johnson's The Parenting may need a time-out when it comes to reinvigorating the genre.

Read Critics Reviews

Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

Director Craig Johnson gives up the ghost of a promise the movie had going for it.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 20, 2025

Full Review

Benjamin Lee

Guardian

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.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 15, 2025

Full Review

Vikram Murthi

IndieWire

The ostensibly heartfelt scenes where characters apologize for their behavior or stand up for themselves never display an ounce of emotional potency because no one resembles a real person.

Rated: C-

Mar 13, 2025

Full Review

Alise Chaffins

MacGuffin or Meaning (Substack)

The Parenting sets itself apart as a unique film. The demon aspect is fun without being overly scary or gory, allowing this to be enjoyed by people looking for a mild scare to accompany their laughs.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 15, 2025

Full Review

Maxance Vincent

The Cinema Spot

Who doesn’t like actors having fun for 90 minutes? I certainly do, but Kent Sublette’s screenplay is chock-full of some of the most egregious horror comedy tropes that it becomes easy to figure out what will happen as the film progresses.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jul 11, 2025

Full Review

Ben Turner

The Pink Lens

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 it actually doesn’t go heavy on the gags, meaning that its only half-funny, half-interesting and also only half-scary.

Rated: 3/5

May 11, 2025

Full Review

Read all reviews

Corey J

While a somewhat cheesy and formulaic low-budget horror comedy, the great cast commits to their bits and this movie was simply entertaining. There is enough humorous banter and some unsettling horror moments to make up for the flaws.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/31/25

Full Review

Elie S

Garbage, Tomatormeter 47% Popcornmeter 86%. How about zero?

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/20/25

Full Review

Helena O

I'm puzzled. It's a dream cast - Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris, Parker Posey -- and the 3 younger actors are all likable. But this was a total misfire. Not funny. Not scary. One-note script. Flat, boring characters (played by some of the best actors alive today) Directed like it was the school play. Wal-Mart special effects. I was actually embarrassed for the cast. Made me sad that there are so few great (or even worthy) feature roles for all of these terrific veteran actors.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/18/25

Full Review

Jennifer F

i found the movie funny as hell

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/12/25

Full Review

Chris H.

I really enjoyed this movie. Maybe I’m out of touch - I really don’t get all the hate. I thought the horror tropes were funny, Parker Posey was great as was that one from Friends and Brian Cox. The interplay between the parents. All around I really enjoyed it - some real laugh out loud. I wasn’t expecting a horror masterpiece but a fun comedy send up - and it worked for me. I’d watch a sequel

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/07/25

Full Review

Paul M

I almost didn't watch this because of the poor ratings. However, an excellent cast of actors. We actually laughed out loud a few times. A really fun entertaining movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/02/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Craig Johnson

Director

Brandon Flynn

Josh

Nik Dodani

Rohan

Brian Cox

Frank

Edie Falco

Sharon

Lisa Kudrow

Liddy

The Parenting: Trailer 1

2:14

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

A hilariously terrifying comedy, THE PARENTING follows young couple Rohan and Josh as they plan a perfect weekend getaway in the country to introduce their parents. As tensions begin to flare between the more traditional Sharon and Frank and the laid-back Liddy and Cliff, the families soon realize that their rental -- managed by eccentric local Brenda -- is haunted by the presence of a 400-year-old poltergeist. When one parent becomes thoroughly possessed, it's up to the young couple and their meddlesome BFF Sara to unite the families and stop the evil entity once and for all.

Director: Craig Johnson
Producer: Chris Bender, Jake Weiner
Screenwriter: Kent Sublette, Kent Sublette
Distributor: Max
Production Co: New Line Productions, Good Fear Content
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 13, 2025
Runtime: 1h 40m

Most Popular at Home Now