By Shannon McGrew
In the upcoming horror/comedy THE PARENTING, young couple Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn) plan a perfect weekend getaway in the country to introduce their parents. As tensions begin to flare between the more traditional Sharon (Edie Falco) and Frank (Brian Cox) and the laid-back Liddy (Lisa Kudrow) and Cliff (Dean Norris), the families soon realize that their rental - managed by eccentric local Brenda (Parker Posey) - is haunted by the presence of a 400-year-old poltergeist. When one parent becomes thoroughly possessed, it's up to the young couple and their meddlesome BFF Sara (Vivian Bang) to unite the families and stop the evil entity once and for all.
For the release of THE PARENTING, Creepy Kingdom's Shannon McGrew participated in a roundtable discussion with writer Kent Sublette ("Saturday Night Live"), director Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins), and actor Dean Norris ("Breaking Bad"). During their chat, they discussed everything from blending horror and comedy to creating a terrifying poltergeist to behind-the-scenes antics and the film's hilarious yet heartfelt family dynamics.
Thank you all for speaking with me today! Kent and Craig, what were some of your biggest influences when developing this film?
Kent Sublette: I have a background love of horror and comedy, which was always in my mind. When I did start writing, I thought of the movie This is the End, which I think is genuinely scary, but has a relationship story, and funny people reacting to those scares. That was the template that I kept thinking about.
Craig Johnson: When I first read [the script], I was reminded of movies I loved from the '80s like Beetlejuice, Poltergeist, Gremlins, Death Becomes Her. These weird infusions of comedy and horror were spooky, subversive, and strange, but still honest and character driven. That's why I really liked them.
For you, Dean, what attributes of Cliff did you see in yourself and why were you drawn to that character?
Dean Norris: I love that Cliff is a bit ham-handed and has no filter. But what I loved about him was how he loved his son unconditionally. It was really important to me that he accepted and loved his son. I think that helped inform the character coming into the weekend. Cliff's the kind of guy who's like alright, let's get it done, it's going to be uncomfortable and awkward to meet somebody else, but we're going to make it right [Laughs]. For my son, I'm going to do my best. Then, of course, unbeknownst to us, we have this 400-year-old poltergeist taking over [Frank]. In that scene where Brian Cox comes out naked and everyone is freaking out, Cliff is just like hey, you got a hard on, I can see it, pal [Laughs]. He's just a down to earth Midwest guy.
Speaking of possession, what was the process like when creating this entity? Was it based on something, or was it a completely original idea?
Kent Sublette: It is a real demon. I went through many different ones and was like, here's a really weird demon [Laughs]. There were a few wood-cut drawings that I had seen that we didn't really use of that specifically for what it is, but it is based on a real thing.
Craig Johnson: When I was working with the design team, we thought of what the most interesting, photorealistic version of this might be. I can't give too much away, but we spent a long time discussing how he might look, walk, move, and exist.
Dean, can you share any memorable moments on set or fun behind-the-scenes stories with us?
Dean Norris: Parker [Posey] and I pretended we had an affair and ran this through the show [Laughs]. We started it one day and pretended it was very uncomfortable to work together, but we would be professional. It ran the whole show even off set. We would dive right back into that improv. I wish it had been filmed to be honest with you [Laughs].
Lastly, I can't close this interview without discussing the adorable dogs and their untimely death.
Kent Sublette: In the script they're supposed to be very annoying. I wanted to cast the ugliest dogs we could find, but that's hard because dogs are cute. So we were like, let's kill it in the silliest way possible so you don't feel too bad.
Craig Johnson: There's a gallows humor embedded in the script, so it's just in line with dark black comedy. It's killed on purpose by a demon and that's part of the wickedness of it. I love the movie A Fish Called Wanda, so I took my cues from there because some poor doggies get crushed comedically in that movie as well.
THE PARENTING will premiere on MAX on Thursday, March 13, 2025.