Parents [Blu-ray]

It doesn't matter whether the parents are actually cannibals or the little boy is a sociopathic serial killer in the making. This movie has absolutely no reason for existing. It is distasteful, disturbing, and pointless. The only reason I gave it two stars instead of one is they did the mid-century modern atmosphere very well. I should know, I lived it. It is billed as a dark comedy. There is absolutely NOTHING comedic about this movie. There are a lot of movies out there which are what they are billed to be - torture porn, slasher movies, etc. I don't like those movies, I don't watch them, but I don't say they shouldn't exist. This movie - nope. No reason for existing and I am somewhat perturbed by all the 4- and 5-star reviews that fooled me into thinking it would have some kind of meaning, some underlying social value. It has NONE. It was a complete waste of my time, two hours I'll never get back. Fortunately I was doing other things while I was watching so the time wasn't a total waste.

Major Spoilers Below:This film one could say is a sort of conflict between two competing ideas. The initial idea is that the parents are cannibals and on its surface I completely agree with that theory. It is what the director leads the viewer to think. The other idea, dare I get into this, is the child, that strange, quiet, unusual little boy is a serial killer in the making and his parents, albeit secretive and disturbed at least on a mild level for the wife and up to a major level for the father, are both during the course of the story victims of a murder.Let's recap:1. The story is from the boy's point of view.2. The boy has extremely violent and graphic nightmares nightly but he has no actual reason at that point to believe his parents are cannibals. This means he couldn't have been psychologically scarred yet to justify those kinds of dreams (in theory).3. In school he speaks of cat mutilation.4. He shows signs of a Sociopath such as being apathetic (therapist said boy was rude), cruel (cat mutilation interest), emotionless (catching his parents making out should have agitated him somewhat especially if he really saw blood all over them as he remembers it), remorseless (assaulting his father with bat, spying on people, trashing house, stabbing his dad, mother dead, house blown up), murderer (trying to kill his father), serial killer in making (trying to kill his father and having no expression in face whether positive or negative as he's doing it; not even fear)5. The only time you see anything implicating parents beyond doubt in cannibalistic behavior is at the end when dad say's they should move to the woods near a highway for the accidents. Since this is all from the boy's point of view, if boy is a lunatic how can we know this is what dad said? Boy got it all wrong about the make-out scene. He saw lipstick on their faces and remembers it all as blood. I know their is an argument that maybe the boy blocked the make out blood image as he saw it and later remembered the truth but that's not how the brain works. It would have to be the other way around where boy sees the blood all over parents then remembers it as just lipstick until soul searching therapy years later finally remembering it all as blood and not lipstick.6. The way the ending was set up as if the boy now suspects grandparents of cannibalism as well which suggests he'll kill them too. Why not just turn these people in? Why kill parents and now maybe grandparents? Serial Killers justify their murders as well.Conclusion: Even if the boy was correct about all of it (he could be which would explain where he got the crazy genes to be what he is), his actions are way beyond the pale of normality and deep into the territory of Sociopath Serial Killer land. I don't know if the parents were cannibals. But what I do know is that kid is one messed up little tike.Terrific movie by the way and the Vestron remaster makes this movie worth the purchase many times over.

I first rented this way back in the day from the local VHS store, i was way too young to do so. So yeah i first saw this when I was 12. Saw that it was recently added to Prime streaming,so i watched it again yesterday and this dark horror comedy holds up rather well now too.

I have seen this three times since it came out, each time I note a bit more information from it. What a great acting job for each of these actors, flawless. The directing and story are very spot on and as a scary movie, it is just a touch of camp with a bit of nutjobery.I also love the bit at the end with the outro intro.

I was seeking to enjoy a little of the comedic side of Randy Quaid. It's not often one finds him as the outright lead. First off the cars most especially stand out and are perfect representations of the middle-class' auto milieu of the period. Furniture and kitchen? California sleek is the goal. As to the plot, the protagonist, and such -- think of Beaver -- Leave it To Beaver -- except June feeds Beaver and Ward human flesh cooked to perfection. It seems that Randy Quaid obtains the meat. Which the mom turns into fried liver or maybe thigh meatloaf. Randy Quaid is a true grill master The surprise is Sandy Dennis. From -- as you may recall -- Neil Simon's The Out of Towners -- starring she and Jack Lemon from 1970. She hardly looks a day older. She plays the school Social Worker. Probably an LCSW. She's fabulous in this movie. Which is, in the end, no more than a dark character study of Randy Quaid and his son. Played brilliantly by the 10-year old that is cast in the part. I'm impressed by this movie. If the metaphor was a hole then the director brings us to the very bottom. Slowly. Leaving us in a heap wondering "what just happened?" Btw Randy Quaid must have lost a good deal of weight. He's svelt and transformed into the secretive cannibal living quietly down the street. This is not gratuitous at all. It's a serious treatment of an oddball subject while ensconced in 1955 America. I could see this becoming a cult classic. Happy dining.

I remember renting this movie back around 1990 on VHS and enjoying it, but not really "getting it". I wasn't sure if it was a twisted comedy or a slasher film....After watching it again 28 years later, I realize it's BOTH.The twist of this film is trying to figure out if this young 1950's suburban child is really the son of cannibalistic parents or if he himself is insane and his parents are normal. The movie is shot from the perspective of the son, which makes everything (and everyone) seem creepy and dangerous. The set designs, costuming and atmosphere rival Mad Men for capturing that natural Mid Century look. I really like this odd little movie, and the blu-ray looks great. If you love Randy Quaid, the 1950's or just quirky, cult horror films, give Parents a shot.

This is beyond a doubt one of my all-time favorite films (certainly the best role Randy Quaid ever played) the picture on the BluRay is by far the best I've seen, the audio is all buggered up though, cutting in and out during my favorite scenes. Such a disappointment given how long I've waited for this. The whole world is made up of chemicals Mike and if you're smart you can make anything with them, like opportunities, like releasing this without audio hiccups.

Quelques fois les films d'horreur font rire tellement ils sont ringards. Pour "Parents", ce n'est pas du tout le cas: On sourit, on rit même parfois. Dans les années 50 aux USA, les nuits de Michael le jeune héros (un enfant au regard absent) sont peuplées de cauchemars où il se débat dans des océans de sang. Quoi de plus normal, quand vos parents sont des cannibales qui vous obligent à vous gaver de viande d'origine douteuse. Quand Michael découvre le véritable visage de ses parents, c'est le drame familial. Son père essaie de le tuer, mais c'est lui qui est laissé pour mort dans la cave. Finalement Michael va vivre chez ses grands parents pour oublier ces évènements. Tous les instants tragiques de ce films sont apaisés par le sourire de la maman et une B.O. mambo, tcha-tcha-tcha qui vous amène à penser que ce film est à regarder au second degré.Jean-Marie Regimbeau

Not your run of the mill horror. An obscure little movie that kinda stays with you afterward.

dvd decevant, on attend toujours la chute qui ne vient jamais, je ne recommande pas ce film qui m a decue, m’attendant a de l humour noir qui n y est pas!!