Parents (Directed by Bob Balaban) 1989

'Parents' is probably one of the weirdest and quirkiest horror films I've ever seen, and despite being a relative flop upon its release it's the sort of movie that just reeks of cult. The flick is set in the 1950s, and concerns the Laemle family - mum, dad and their rather pale looking son Michael. However, Michael is pale for a reason, because he's always having bizarre nightmares, in turn lack of sleep and strange behaviour at school, but after we literally 'meet the parents' we're firmly on poor Michael's side. It seems that dad (played by Randy Quaid) and mum (Mary Beth Hurt) are spending dinner-time eating some rather juicy yet unappealing meat which, as it so happens, seems to be left overs that dad is bringing home from the local chemical plant - in other words, fresh human meat - the sort that Michael isn't too keen on chomping into. Of course, no-one originally believes Michael's claims, and it's no wonder the poor kid lives in terror of his creepy father - but with that quirky soundtrack, and vintage wallpaper, this is the sort of 'almost' happy movie that leaves a lot to the imagination. It's no wonder fans of David Lynch ('Twin Peaks,' 'Eraserhead' et al) lapped this flick up, because it's the sort of sit-com mockery that could draw in a few people and then leave their jaws hanging loose after it has sprayed them with blood and creeped them out with its surreal imagery.

'Parents' is a brilliant little shocker that's well acted and despite not brimming with blood, the atmosphere alone is enough to have you at once giggling, and then the next gagging. Like all minor horror classics, 'Parents' only runs for about 80 minutes, yet it does enough on the tin to leave you wondering just what your own parents used to cook you when you were young! In a sense 'Parents' is very late '80s in its design and yet equally authentic in its 1950s feel. It's the sort of movie that not many would have included in their Top 100, but for me it's essential viewing and a real stand out experience from a time when horror was dying on its feet.