Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | Film | March 19, 2025
I have no idea what I was expecting from The Parenting (now on Max), but it sure as hell wasn’t what I witnessed. With a cast like Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Dean Norris, Lisa Kudrow, and Parker Posey, I assumed it would be some atmospheric horror at best. What I did not expect was a zany, slapstick horror-comedy that’s as dumb as it is fun.
Is the Craig Johnson (Skeleton Twins)-directed film good? That’s a stretch. Is it marketable? Not even a little, which is why I’m not surprised it landed on Max. It’s off-kilter and weird and probably cost less than $3 million to make, but it has a real nostalgic Evil Dead 2/Army of Darkness vibe that I found irresistible.
The film follows a gay couple — Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn) — who rent an Airbnb for the weekend to introduce each other to their parents. Rohan’s are Frank (Cox) and Sharon (Falco), while Josh’s are Cliff (Norris) and Liddy (Kudrow). Their mutual best friend, Sara (Vivian Bang), also tags along. The Airbnb’s host? Parker Posey’s Brenda—at her Parker Posiest.
As it turns out, the house is possessed by a demonic entity that’s been lying dormant since the ’80s, when it slaughtered the previous occupants. The demon is awakened by a Latin phrase — used as the WiFi password — that everyone in the house ends up saying at some point. It subsequently possesses Brian Cox’s Frank, unleashing all manner of chaos.
Frank roams around naked, spews homophobic remarks at Josh and Rohan (because he’s a Boomer demon), and occasionally projectile vomits on his houseguests. The faceless spirits of the home’s former residents also make a few eerie appearances. But to be clear: It is not scary. Not even for a second. It’s a ridiculous, cartoonish horror movie. But what makes it work — if it works at all — is watching Brian Cox fully commit to some wildly undignified antics. Part of me was thinking, “Brian Cox, what the hell are you doing?” while the other part was screaming, “Holy sh**! Brian Cox!”
Falco plays the tightly wound mom opposite Kudrow’s free-spirited, casserole-making weirdo, while Norris nails the role of the embarrassing-but-well-meaning dad.
I really cannot stress enough how dumb this movie is, and if you’re not in the mood for it — take a gummy, grab a drink — it might feel like an absolute sh**show. But there’s something oddly charming about watching a cast this stacked let loose in a low-budget, ’80s-style horror-comedy that feels like a 90-minute SNL sketch. I didn’t love it, but I enjoyed it, almost in spite of myself.
