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

84%

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

Mar 20

2/4

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

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Benjamin Lee

Guardian

Mar 15

2/5

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.

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Vikram Murthi

IndieWire

Mar 13

C-

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.

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Alise Chaffins

MacGuffin or Meaning (Substack)

Jul 15

3.5/5

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.

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Maxance Vincent

The Cinema Spot

Jul 11

2.5/5

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.

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Ben Turner

The Pink Lens

May 11

3/5

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.

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Zachary K

@ZacharyKing Nov 4

Its kind of just mediocre on all fronts, not much to say about this one. Got a few laughs out of me and had a fun soundtrack. 5/10

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Bill P

Oct 24

Comedy horror that's not scary or funny despite an all star cast. The cast kept me watchng because, come on, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Parker Posey(!), Dean Norris, Brian Cox, Vivian Bang... Did they lose a bet or something? How did such an A-List bunch get suckered into this second rate flick?

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TI H

@MeInCharacter Oct 19

It took me a while to get into this. At first, I didn't realize it was meant to be a comedy. Once I switched into the right frame of mind, I began enjoying the production, especially the all-star cast. The film certainly has its moments. The schtick is that two men are about to be engaged, and they spend the weekend in a house with their parents, emotionally unstable friend, and three Pomeranian dogs. Oh, and a demon. The house is haunted. ////// It's a fun story, but ultimately, the setup is better than the execution. I felt that they could have done more with the relationships while at the same time making the plot complications funnier. I'll bet you get a kick out of it, although you might, like I did, fast-forward through parts.

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Wayne M

Oct 19

The relationship and parent dynamics offer the best entertainment, though like most films of this type, the second half gets a bit serious.

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Joe W.

@CampSlasher Oct 16

Funny and entertaining, but not a top of the line film whatsoever.

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Corey J

@FilmGuyCorey Aug 31

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.

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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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