IMDb 5.5 1990 HD

Meet the Applegates

Meet the Applegates

1990
Comedy Fantasy Horror
90 min R USA
5.397 / 10
5.5 IMDB

Modelling themselves after an idyllic cookie-cutter suburban 1950s family, a colony of insects move from South America into the United States with the intent of getting access to…

Personnel // Cast & Crew

Director Michael Lehmann
Starring
Ed Begley Jr. / Stockard Channing / Dabney Coleman / Robert Jayne / Camille Cooper / Glenn Shadix / Susan Barnes / Adam Biesk

How Viewers Describe This Film

Common themes and sentiments

quirky peculiar strange amusing intriguing odd unconventional B-movie satirical engaging unique bizarre

Reviews

G
Genevieve Moreau
May 18, 2026
3.0 / 5
3.0

The premise of Meet the Applegates is its strongest asset: a colony of insects aiming for nuclear access by mimicking a 1950s American family. Ed Begley Jr. and Stockard Channing lead the charge with a performance style that…

R
Reginald Finch
May 18, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

A delightful slice of off-kilter cinema, Meet the Applegates is a film that embraces its singular vision with gusto. The notion of insectoid immigrants seeking nuclear power by perfecting the suburban idyll is a stroke of genius, and…

I
Isabelle Dubois
May 18, 2026
2.5 / 5
2.5

Meet the Applegates presents a concept ripe for dark comedy, yet it often struggles to fully commit. The visual of a bug family living the American dream is inherently amusing, and Ed Begley Jr. and Stockard Channing do…

M
Marcus Thorne
May 18, 2026
3.5 / 5
3.5

There's an undeniable charm to the sheer audacity of Meet the Applegates. The central idea of an insect colony adopting suburban ideals to achieve a sinister goal is a fertile ground for satire, and the film largely capitalises…

E
Eleanor Vance
May 18, 2026
3.0 / 5
3.0

Meet the Applegates offers a wonderfully peculiar premise, with insects masquerading as a 1950s American family to pilfer nuclear secrets. Ed Begley Jr. and Stockard Channing anchor the proceedings with a commitment that sells the absurdity. The film…

FAQs

The primary conflict in Meet the Applegates arises from the insect colony's mission to infiltrate American society and obtain access to its nuclear resources, all while maintaining their elaborate cover as a human family. The tension lies in their struggle to balance their true nature and objectives with the demands of suburban life and the risk of exposure. This creates a unique dynamic of internal struggle and external threat.