Movie · 2025 · Horror, Comedy · 1h 34m · R · English
Curator score: 1.1/10 (42.5K ratings)
Meeting the parents... it's a necessary evil.
Overview
Boyfriends Josh and Rohan plan a weekend getaway to introduce their parents, only to discover that their rental is home to an ancient demon.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.1/10
IMDb: 5.7/10
Letterboxd: 2.79/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 49%
Metacritic: 45
TMDB: 6.0/10
Director
Craig Johnson
Production
Good Fear, New Line Cinema
Cast
Brandon Flynn, Nik Dodani, Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris, Vivian Bang, Parker Posey, Kate Avallone, Elle Kaye, Chloe Sciore, Keith R. Beck, Johnny Hawe, McKhelen Alcindor, Evonne Archer, Peter Brownlee, Brendan Edwards, Heidi Garza, Bhanu Gopal, Josh Habib
Where to watch
Max
Curator Review
Verdict
A campy haunted-house comedy with a queer rom-com setup and a strong ensemble, The Parenting seems to land more as a joke machine than a fully satisfying horror film. If you want broad, raunchy, family-chaos humor with a few genuinely funny performances, it should work; if you need sharper scares, tighter plotting, or more bite, it may feel thin.
Best for
viewers who like horror-comedy with a light, silly tone
fans of queer ensemble comedies
people who enjoy family-meeting-the-in-laws chaos
audiences looking for campy one-liners over serious scares
Skip if
you want strong horror atmosphere or real dread
you prefer tightly constructed supernatural stories
broad, goofy humor usually misses for you
you dislike family dysfunction and sex-joke comedy
Overview
The Parenting plays like a knowingly silly haunted-house farce, with the setup doing a lot of the work: a couple, their parents, a rental house, and a centuries-old poltergeist all trapped together. The appeal is less about suspense than about collision—romance, family awkwardness, and supernatural chaos smashing into each other at full volume.
Worth noting
The cast seems to be the main selling point, and the film leans hard on comic timing, camp energy, and throwaway lines. Reviews suggest it lands best when it embraces its own absurdity, especially in the queer-family-comedy lane, but it may leave horror fans wanting more invention from the ghost story itself.
Bottom line
If you’re in the mood for something breezy, queer, and aggressively unserious, it sounds like an easy watch. If you want your haunted-house movies to build tension or deliver memorable scares, this is probably more of a pass than a must-see.
Top Letterboxd reviews
hugeasmammoth (3★) · 2027 likes
You know what, I was fucking entertained. Sorry for the f word. That’s not me. I don’t know what’s gotten into me today.
jer ☘️ (3.5★) · 868 likes
“well, frank’s awake”
“damn. he looks like shit”
“he’s possessed by a demon, cliff”
Rizki (3.5★) · 516 likes
A gay couple vs. a homophobic demon, a family mess, and a haunted house all in the same film? Oh, hell yeah. Sure, it’s brainless. Sure, I want something more from the horror side. In spite of that, I have to admit that I really enjoyed this. The humor is not for everyone but if you get it, you get it. And I’m glad to be one of those who get it.
—2025 Ranked
clara (3★) · 416 likes
gay people, a lesbian dog, family mess, lisa kudrow, parker posey... i mean, i had a good time!
B E R T (3.5★) · 403 likes
Between this and The White Lotus, it’s a golden age for gay Parker Posey fans.
GAY MOVIE LIST
1996 · Comedy, Romance · 1h 59m · R · Curator 7.8/10 (359.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
A classic of queer domestic comedy, identity performance, and family embarrassment.