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Movie
Poster for Parents

Parents

1989 · 82 min

A queasy, darkly funny satire of 1950s suburbia that burrows into a child's paranoid perspective, blending surreal nightmares with mounting dread.

Directed by
Bob Balaban
Genres
Horror, Comedy
Starring
Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Sandy Dennis
Tagline
There's A New Name For Terror...
Overview
Michael is a young boy living in a typical 1950s suburbanite home... except for his bizarre and horrific nightmares, and continued unease around his parents. Young Michael begins to suspect his parents are cooking more than just hamburgers on the grill outside, but has trouble explaining his fears to his new-found friend Sheila, or the school's social worker.

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Stream in the UK
  • Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Bob Balaban
Genres
Horror, Comedy
Starring
Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Sandy Dennis
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 2 of 3
  • eeriestrength 2 of 3
  • absurdstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • family
  • isolation
  • identity
  • betrayal
  • madness
Places
  • suburbs
  • home
  • school
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • twist ending
Content intensity
  • Gore strong
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror7
Humour6
Realism5
Romance1
Tension7
Darkness8
Complexity6
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel
Free
  • Plex
Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • Sky Store

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
horror, comedy
Directed by
Bob Balaban
Written by
Christopher Hawthorne
Starring
Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Sandy Dennis, Bryan Madorsky, Juno Mills-Cockell, Kathryn Grody, Deborah Rush, Graham Jarvis
Music
Jonathan Elias, Angelo Badalamenti
Cinematography
Ernest Day, Robin Vidgeon
Runtime
82 min
Country
United States of America, Canada
Languages
English

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