Parents

It's obvious from the general look of Bob Ballaban's PARENTS that the 50's are trying to be emulated as much as possible. What instead incurs, due to an art direction, and directorial decision making that inputs queasy music to queasy shots of oily faces, is a bilious experience. Then again, how could nausea not be induced when you're making a film about cannibalism? For, you see, the 'parents' of the red splatter title lettering are cannibals, and induce constant fear into their wide-eyed, disappointed looking son, Michael. Michael begins to suspect his parents of doing weird things at night, for when he wakes up in the morning they have monster-sized slices of simmering meat on plates in front of him. This teasing with the horror genre begins in such odd ways though, and the film doesn't feel well thought out. Why, only now, at age ten does Michael suspect his parents? Wouldn't such activity in the house just be normality for him? Furthermore, Michael's fear of his parents for such a long time seems irrational and out of place. It's as if his real parents have died and these are the insane aunt and uncle guardians. And god, the look of this is horrid. The oily faces just drown the film in a languorousness that seems to reflect how little its events matter. I hated this film from the very first shot to the premise to the actors. I was nauseated, bored, annoyed, and confused.

★ out of Five