Parents (1989)

8/10

A morbidly creepy yet funny film that will make you think twice about eating meat again.

Parents is set in 1950's about a boy who began to question where his parents is getting their dinner meat from. A comedy/mystery/horror/drama, the entire story is told from the perspective of the little boy, Michael.

Acting is superb! Bryan Madorsky is very genuine in his portrayal of the confused/scared Michael who is unsure who to trust. Madorsky's only acting gig and he gave a fantastic performance. I wish I could have seen him in more films. The parents, played by Randy Quaid and Mary Beth Hurt, are very believable and very creepy...I had the chills every time they smiled....

Parents is very deceiving as it uses sit-com music and a warm family appeal giving viewers a false sense of safety and just when your guards are down the film will plunge into the horrific scene. The realization that you are actually watching a scary movie comes so quickly that it is chilling.

The cinematography creates the horror and element of fear. The film focuses on using high and low angles to give the illusion of the petite-ness of Michael and the towering built of the grown ups. The film also uses a lot of spins and turns emphasizing the idea of confusion and loss that Michael feels. In the scene where Michael is tied to a chair, the entire room is turning but the camera remain fixed on the people-- this shot is quite entrancing. The film has many short cuts, blending dream and flashback sequences and reality together further creating a sense of confusion and fear.

The blending of scenes into scenes and scenes into a solid screen of red makes this film really scary. Red has been contrasted and saturated quite a bit in this movie, making it loom over all other colours. The scenes are not overly gore, but is able to gross you out nevertheless.

I highly recommend this film to horror/comedy/mystery lovers. It is not your typical slasher or ghost film. It uses the element of safety (your parents) to create the sense of fear.