Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Parents

 Parents
type
TVTItem
 Parents
label
Parents
 Parents
page
Parents
 Parents
comment
Parents is a 1989 American horror-comedy film directed by Bob Balaban and starring Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Sandy Dennis, and Bryan Madorsky.In 1958 California, ten-year-old Michael Laemle moves to a new neighborhood with his parents Nick and Lilly. They all seem to be a civilized family. But Michael begins having nightmares, leading him to wonder about where the family is getting their food from.
 Parents
fetched
2024-01-29T04:13:40Z
 Parents
parsed
2024-01-29T04:13:40Z
 Parents
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Parents / int_13992073
type
Rasputinian Death
 Parents / int_13992073
comment
Rasputinian Death: Nick gets stabbed in the shoulder by Michael and then when he goes after him, he gets stabbed in the back by Lilly. After he kills her, he chases his son down the basement where at this point is getting weaker from his stab wounds and falls down the stairs. He then stumbles onto his wine shelf, which falls on top of him and crushes him. And if that by any chance didn't finish him off, he would be blown up when the house explodes from a broken gas line (due to his earlier stumbling).
 Parents / int_13992073
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_13992073
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_13992073
 Parents / int_27ab0123
type
Offing the Offspring
 Parents / int_27ab0123
comment
Offing the Offspring: Nick tries to do this to Michael when he refuses to eat the meat and stabs Nick in the shoulder.
 Parents / int_27ab0123
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_27ab0123
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_27ab0123
 Parents / int_537dd8fe
type
Affably Evil
 Parents / int_537dd8fe
comment
Affably Evil: Lilly is genuinely loving toward Michael and considerably less evil than Nick. It helps that it's hinted that she was forced to partake in cannibalism until she developed Stockholm syndrome and that she herself never personally killed anyone. Likewise, Michael's grandparents, while implied to also be cannibals, are portrayed as far more loving toward Michael and far less creepy than Nick.
 Parents / int_537dd8fe
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_537dd8fe
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_537dd8fe
 Parents / int_5d6db368
type
Four Eyes, Zero Soul
 Parents / int_5d6db368
comment
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Nick wears glasses and is a cannibalistic Serial Killer.
 Parents / int_5d6db368
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_5d6db368
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_5d6db368
 Parents / int_6439de78
type
Heroic Sacrifice
 Parents / int_6439de78
comment
Heroic Sacrifice: "Heroic" might be a bit debatable considering she partook in eating human meat, but Lilly does end up performing one when she tries to stop Nick from killing Michael, only to end up dead herself.
 Parents / int_6439de78
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_6439de78
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_6439de78
 Parents / int_6e429ce0
type
Standard '50s Father
 Parents / int_6e429ce0
comment
Standard '50s Father: At first glance, Nick appears to be your typical middle-class family patriarch. The truth is much darker.
 Parents / int_6e429ce0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_6e429ce0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_6e429ce0
 Parents / int_6edc54d5
type
Here We Go Again!
 Parents / int_6edc54d5
comment
Here We Go Again!: After being orphaned and moving in with his grandparents, they tuck him in and leave him a sandwich, which is implied to be of human meat, showing that Nick learned it from them.
 Parents / int_6edc54d5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_6edc54d5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_6edc54d5
 Parents / int_7301ae04
type
Serial Killer
 Parents / int_7301ae04
comment
Serial Killer: Nick is a cannibal who kills people for food. It's implied his own parents were this as well.
 Parents / int_7301ae04
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_7301ae04
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_7301ae04
 Parents / int_822ae673
type
High-Class Cannibal
 Parents / int_822ae673
comment
High-Class Cannibal: Downplayed. Nick and Lilly are a wealthy upper middle class couple who move their family to spotless suburbia, and they're also cannibals.
 Parents / int_822ae673
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_822ae673
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_822ae673
 Parents / int_856a425a
type
TheFifties
 Parents / int_856a425a
comment
The '50s: The movie takes place in 1958.
 Parents / int_856a425a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_856a425a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_856a425a
 Parents / int_8bf802dd
type
Golf Clubbing
 Parents / int_8bf802dd
comment
Golf Clubbing: How the school counselor Millie Dew dies when she discovers the family secret and hides in the kitchen closet, managing to evade getting stabbed by Nick but then gets killed with a golf club to the head. Then later on in the day, after Nick prepares dinner, he gets attacked with said club by Michael.
 Parents / int_8bf802dd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_8bf802dd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_8bf802dd
 Parents / int_957e5fc2
type
Villainous Breakdown
 Parents / int_957e5fc2
comment
Villainous Breakdown: After being stabbed by Michael, Nick snaps and attempts to kill Michael. When Lilly attempts to stop him, he kills her.
 Parents / int_957e5fc2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_957e5fc2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_957e5fc2
 Parents / int_95b7c400
type
Faux Affably Evil
 Parents / int_95b7c400
comment
Faux Affably Evil: On the surface, Nick seems like a loving family man to his wife and son. But when Michael starts to dig deeper into the where the family gets their food, he becomes more threatening, all the while keeping up his calm demeanor. His attempts to sway Michael into adopting cannibalism sound almost like a father cajoling his son into picking up a new hobby. It's only when he gets stabbed by Michael that he finally loses his composure.
 Parents / int_95b7c400
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_95b7c400
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_95b7c400
 Parents / int_a30c287
type
Good Parents
 Parents / int_a30c287
comment
Good Parents: Lilly is more affectionate towards Michael and even dies for him when Nick tries to kill him.
 Parents / int_a30c287
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_a30c287
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_a30c287
 Parents / int_ac09dc0f
type
Alas, Poor Villain
 Parents / int_ac09dc0f
comment
Alas, Poor Villain: Lilly was perfectly willing to turn a blind eye to Nick's murders and even partook in eating human meat herself, but she was also a mentally ill woman who was implied to have been forced by her husband to engage in cannibalism until she developed Stockholm syndrome and came to enjoy it. There is no indication she herself ever personally killed anyone, and she dies saving Michael from Nick, which is played as a Heroic Sacrifice.
 Parents / int_ac09dc0f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_ac09dc0f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_ac09dc0f
 Parents / int_b11ac9f5
type
Abusive Parents
 Parents / int_b11ac9f5
comment
Abusive Parents: Nick acts like a Doting Parent towards Michael until he starts snooping around his father's business to find out where he gets his food. After that he starts acting more hostile towards his son, even telling "stories" to frighten him into submission. And when that fails, he tries to kill him.
 Parents / int_b11ac9f5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_b11ac9f5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_b11ac9f5
 Parents / int_b63019a5
type
High-Heel–Face Turn
 Parents / int_b63019a5
comment
High-Heel–Face Turn: It's Michael's mother, Lilly, who turns on Nick and protects him.
 Parents / int_b63019a5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_b63019a5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_b63019a5
 Parents / int_c324a7d
type
Cannibal Clan
 Parents / int_c324a7d
comment
Cannibal Clan: A lot of the elements in the trope get subverted as Nick himself is the leader of the pack who's managed to get Lilly to eat human meat and tries to force Michael to do the same.
 Parents / int_c324a7d
featureApplicability
-0.3
 Parents / int_c324a7d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_c324a7d
 Parents / int_c7f294da
type
Large and in Charge
 Parents / int_c7f294da
comment
Large and in Charge: Nick is the head of the household, and being portrayed by the 6'5 Randy Quaid, towers over everyone.
 Parents / int_c7f294da
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_c7f294da
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_c7f294da
 Parents / int_e4c0b2b6
type
Primal Scene
 Parents / int_e4c0b2b6
comment
Primal Scene: Michael does this once late at night while his parents are making out in the living room.
 Parents / int_e4c0b2b6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_e4c0b2b6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_e4c0b2b6
 Parents / int_e662a850
type
Villainous Parental Instinct
 Parents / int_e662a850
comment
Villainous Parental Instinct: Also crossing over with High-Heel–Face Turn, Lilly was involved in cannibalism, but she tries to stop Michael from killing Nick when he won't participate, and ultimately gets killed for it.
 Parents / int_e662a850
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_e662a850
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_e662a850
 Parents / int_eb8ec7c8
type
Jerkass
 Parents / int_eb8ec7c8
comment
Jerkass: While Nick acts affectionate to Michael at first, it's when he starts snooping around in his father's business is when Nick starts to treat him with more hostility. Threatening him and even outright telling him he hates him.
 Parents / int_eb8ec7c8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_eb8ec7c8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_eb8ec7c8
 Parents / int_eb9afb9d
type
Evil Old Folks
 Parents / int_eb9afb9d
comment
Evil Old Folks: While they are very kind to Michael, his grandparents who appear at the end of the film are implied to not only have introduced their son Nick to his practice of cannibalism, but still engage in it themselves even in old age.
 Parents / int_eb9afb9d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_eb9afb9d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_eb9afb9d
 Parents / int_f3d5d15f
type
Creepy Child
 Parents / int_f3d5d15f
comment
Creepy Child: Michael is a very strange boy who doesn't act like a typical boy for his time period and shows little emotion, though he's still a nice boy with a good heart.
 Parents / int_f3d5d15f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_f3d5d15f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_f3d5d15f
 Parents / int_fd5f23a7
type
Skyward Scream
 Parents / int_fd5f23a7
comment
Skyward Scream: Millie does this when she discovers a corpse in the Laemles' basement, which goes all the way through the vents all the way up to the chimney.
 Parents / int_fd5f23a7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_fd5f23a7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_fd5f23a7
 Parents / int_fec6ea72
type
BloodSplatteredInnocents
 Parents / int_fec6ea72
comment
Blood-Splattered Innocents: One of Michael's Nightmare Sequences involves him wallowing a lake of blood.
 Parents / int_fec6ea72
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_fec6ea72
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_fec6ea72
 Parents / int_name
type
ItemName
 Parents / int_name
comment
 Parents / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Parents / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Parents
hasFeature
Parents / int_name
 Parents / int_name
itemName
Parents

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Parents
hasFeature
Cannibal Clan / int_dc00344f
 Parents
hasFeature
High-Class Cannibal / int_dc00344f
 Parents
hasFeature
Horror Comedy / int_dc00344f
 Parents
hasFeature
Standard '50s Father / int_dc00344f
 Parents
hasFeature
Standard '50s Father / int_dc00344f
 Parents
hasFeature
Stepford Suburbia / int_dc00344f
 Parents
hasFeature
The '50s / int_dc00344f
 Parents
hasFeature
The Secret of Long Pork Pies / int_dc00344f
 Parents
hasFeature
Villainous Parental Instinct / int_dc00344f