Parents' Guide to

Parasite

Movie R 2019 132 minutes
Parasite Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson By Jeffrey M. Anderson , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 16+

Brilliant Korean social satire has dark comedy, violence.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 16+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 15+

Based on 34 parent reviews

age 13+

Movie

I watched this with my son Beebert. He was traumatized and did not understand anything because I had it in Korean because I know Korean but he doesn't and has to learn. Beebert was not enthused by the amount of social commentary in this movie, and left to go watch Wild Kratts. That does not matter, I am the only one that matters.
age 15+

Dark comedy with violent ending for some characters.

Interesting movie with complex layers. Funny in parts but also quite disturbing at the same time. It starts off reasonably but the violence builds up progressively towards a big bang towards the end. There are references to differences in social class as well.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (34 ):
Kids say (83 ):

South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho already has an impeccable track record, but he's stepped up his game with this brilliant, powerfully revealing social satire. Certainly Parasite might feel uneven to some audiences because of its radical shifts in tone -- from clever comedy to violent, dark tragedy -- but it's more likely that Bong has executed everything as planned. Each insignificant detail, from the young boy Da-song's love of Native Americans to a peach allergy to the Kim family's sad little half-basement apartment, has been planted for some specific, exacting reason.

Cleanly and slickly constructed, Parasite takes perverse pleasure in scamming the rich during its leisurely, funny first half, and that pleasure is contagious. When the second half comes, it's not only a narrative shock, but it also forces viewers to ask hard questions about why the first half was so enjoyable. In earlier films like The Host, Snowpiercer, and Okja, Bong slyly explored the impact that humans have had on our environment. In Parasite, he looks at an even bigger picture. He wonders why humans tend to look away from, or insulate themselves from, others' troubles and suffering. In this movie, reaching the high ground is certainly desirable, but those occupying the low ground aren't going anywhere.

Movie Details

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