The Parenting

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2:14

The Parenting

2025

1h 40m

Horror

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

47%

Tomatometer

36 Reviews

86%

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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Jerod S

The comedy-horror combo isn't my jam - but do this one for the laughs. When parents come to meet, it's always a perfect time for fodder.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/21/25

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Sarah C

The Parenting is way funnier and better than I was expecting.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/11/25

Full Review

Daniel J.

Is it a comedy? A horror? It’s both! Lol loved it

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/28/25

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Ali R

Super fun just sit on the couch and smile for 90 minutes movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/21/25

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mark m

this was painful to watch.The writing was poor, the acting phoned in and the direction was haphazard at best. I had 1 laugh, more of a snort and that was ,sorry to say, when the dog got smooshed. the humor was a play of words on the" cats out of the bag", to the " the dog is out of the box" quality.watch paint dry, its more rewarding.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/21/25

Full Review

Eric L

It was really good fun to watch would love to watch a sequel if that happens someday

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/07/25

Full Review

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Craig Johnson

Director

Brandon Flynn

Josh

Nik Dodani

Rohan

Brian Cox

Frank

Edie Falco

Sharon

Lisa Kudrow

Liddy

The Parenting: Trailer 1

2:14

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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

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