HBO's newest movie is unlike anything it's ever made before

Every so often as I survey basically every trailer and teaser coming out of the biggest and best streaming services, I'll watch one that feels like a genuine surprise – whether because of the content or because of which service is making it. The Parenting's first trailer definitely ticks the latter box.

It's a horror movie, with clear dashes of comedy laced throughout, and looks pretty much unlike anything else HBO has made in the last few years – not least because of its extremely light and dark tonal contrast. In classic HBO style, though, it has some pretty huge actors anchoring the whole thing.

The Parenting | Official Trailer | Max - YouTube

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The original movie has a really fun premise to bounce off. It sees a young couple inviting both of their sets of parents to a country house for the weekend to give them the news that they're getting married, and to introduce them to each other. What they don't realise, though, is that the house they've chosen is extremely haunted.

That means they have two huge threats to deal with – the interpersonal stress of watching their odd parents fence with each other in conversation, but also the risk of possession, murder and demonic violence stopping any of them from actually getting away at any point. It looks like a great mix, with a terrific cast as I already mentioned.

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Brian Cox is present as one grumpy father (presumably lured in after his work for HBO on the likes of Succession). We'll also be able to watch Lisa Kudrow, Parker Posey, Dean Norris and more – all of whom look like they're having great fun fighting demon dogs, lighting fire circles and swearing at each other.

Whether the film will actually be any good remains to be seen, but it looks guaranteed to be some light relief when it drops on 13 March, in just a few days' time. The fact that we haven't heard much about it until now doesn't really mean anything, either – shadow drops in the age of streaming are sometimes the biggest hits of all. You should be able to find it wherever HBO content airs in your region, which might mean Now in the UK (although it hasn't been confirmed yet), but will definitely be on Max in the US.