Meeting the in-laws for the first time is a prospect that's predominantly dreaded by most couples. Providing a relationship survives its first few hurdles, there is often a sense of inevitability around the “so, I was hoping to introduce you to my family” line, reluctantly spun by one of you who decides to grasp the nettle and get that initially awkward, introductory meet out the way. A nerve-induced and sweaty shake of the hands with the father-in-law, before an uncomfortable half-hug with the mother-in-law, and the painful mental deliberation over whether it’s one kiss on the cheek or two, and if it's four, then they’re probably French…

No matter how many times you rehearse the unavoidable barrage of job interview-like questions in the mirror, you'll most likely end up answering by mumbling incoherently or like you’re reading a PowerPoint presentation. You'll have to endure the rudimentary quiz on your age, background, job, school, family, criminal record, smoker status, plans for the future, and the obligatory “What do you see in my son/daughter?” Hopefully, the tremble in your voice begins to subside, and you can start to look forward to years of harmonious, stress-free conversation with a loving family… Or can you? These are some of the best movies to document these relatable troubles with truly awful in-laws…

5 The Big Sick

Michael Showalter’s 2017 rom-rom The Big Sick is a moving and uproarious chronicle of a comedian, Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani), who falls in love with a graduate, Emily (Zoe Kazan) at a stand-up comedy show. As a son of devout Muslim parents, Kumail has to confront the likely problem of their discontent over his choice of partner. The real-life Kumail and Emily co-wrote the semi-autobiographical film after experiencing its events for themselves.

Related: The Big Sick Creators Tell the Truth Behind the Story | EXCLUSIVE

4 Meet the Parents

For men, meeting their partner's father for the first time is a daunting task, to say the least. Some would rather walk across broken glass barefoot than relive that ordeal again. In director Jay Roach’s 2000s comedy, Meet the Parents, Ben Stiller stars as Greg Focker, who is invited by his girlfriend and soon-to-be fiancé to her parent's house for the weekend.

After the initial frosty reception from Pamela’s overprotective, ex-CIA father Jack (iconically played by Robert De Niro), Greg’s experience goes from bad to worse, when his planned proposal quickly descends into utter chaos. Jack’s suspicions of his son-in-law lead him to conduct a lie detector test, as well as the open chastisement of Greg’s chosen career path as a male nurse. Meet the Parents is a hilarious (and frequently excruciatingly painful) watch that takes the famously feared first meeting with the in-laws to an unforgettable new low.

3 The Power of the Dog

Director Jane Campion took home the Academy Award for Best Director for this film, just the third woman in history to do so. The Power of the Dog is a screen adaptation of Thomas Savage’s novel of the same name, and it follows the story of a rancher, Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch). The movie is an intense, slow-burning, and unexpected tale of a complex individual with this devilish hatred of his brother’s wife, Rose (Kirsten Dunst), and his peculiar, often mocking infatuation with her son, Pete (Kodi Smith-McPhee).

Related: The Power of the Dog Review: Uttering the Unutterable

This isn’t just a story of a misunderstood, closeted gay man, but of his convoluted, deep-lying resentment of his brother’s (played flawlessly by Jesse Plemons) heterosexual relationship, and the mere fact she has taken his sibling away from him. The Power of the Dog is a nightmarish portrayal of in-law loathing, and comes with a definitive “viewer discretion advised” notice if you have had recent misdealing with your other half’s family members…

2 Get Out

The pressure-cooker environment that is making the primary acquaintance of your in-laws is rarely depicted in the form of horror, yet with director Jordan Peele, you have a man unbothered by complying with conventionalism and driven solely by originality. 2017’s horror thriller Get Out was a perceived masterpiece by both critics and moviegoers, and it explores the story of Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend Rose, who set off on a weekend trip to her parent's house.

Assured by Rose that her parents will love him, Get Out comically, but also terrifyingly taps into a black man’s first encounter with his white girlfriend’s folks, and his premonitions that something could potentially be afoot. Peele delivers a scintillatingly accurate social commentary on the matter of race relations in the United States.

1 Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

In an era where significant strides have been made to eradicate racial discrimination entirely, we are still repeatedly surrounded by headlines about institutional, systemic, and societal racism around the world. 1967’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner confronts the issue of interracial relationships in America, just two years after the abolition of enforced racial segregation. Stanley Kramer’s film follows the story of Joey Drayton (Katharine Houghton), as she returns home for dinner with her new fiancé John Prentice (Sidney Poitier).

Her parents are meeting their soon-to-be son-in-law for the first time. Unbeknownst to Matt and Christina Drayton, John is a Black man, and they are in for quite a rude awakening. Despite their relative liberality, their protestations and disapproval quickly come to light. The film is a lesson in deep-rooted racial prejudice, and the trouble white Americans had with accepting that with equality came the basic human and civil right to fall in love and marry who one pleased, regardless of color and creed.