Spooky Season 2025: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Review

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a remake to the 1992 film of the same name that follows a mostly similar storyline to the original, outside of of some changes to adapt it to a more modern day setting, this time centered around upscale suburban mom Caitlin Morales (Winstead) and her husband Miguel (Castillo) who bring a new nanny, Polly (Monroe), into their home, only to discover she is not the person that she is claiming to be. While a serviceable remake, this latest version simply pales in comparison to the original, and never fully justifies its existence.

A well put together film that is shot and scored well, it does do a decent job at keeping audiences invested in its story despite its predictable nature, even more so for those familiar with the original film. Winstead delivers the best performance as Caitlin, showcasing a wide range of emotions throughout, in line with the roller coaster Caitlin faced over the course of the film. Monroe may not reach the heights of Rebecca De Mornay’s iconic performance from the original, but she more than holds her own, taking a much different approach to Polly and making her a lot more understated, while still showing plenty of rage and menace when she needs to. The chemistry between she and Winstead makes the central dynamic between Caitlin and Polly the best part of the film, so much so that it would not have been nearly as effective if not for them. Besides Winstead and Monroe, Castillo and Martin Starr turn in solid supporting performances.

Above all else, whatever good it may or may not do, at the end of the day, it can’t shake the fact that it is merely an unnecessary remake that did not need to exist. Suffering from a slow start that the film could never quite overcome, the film simply takes far too long to get going and get to the meat of the story that most audiences have come here to see. Meanwhile, what is also shocking is how it largely lacks thrills, suspense, or tension until the final act but even then, those moments are fleeting at best. The climax, though promising at first, contains some rather shocking and gnarly gore effects, but it ends almost as quickly as it begins, leading to an ending that is both extremely rushed and abrupt. It makes the slow burn nature of the film’s first two acts all the more frustrating, as it fails to build to anything remotely worthwhile or memorable. That being said, it is almost respectable that this new version almost feels tamer and more subdued than the original in certain respects, however, in retrospect, taking things a lot further would have been the far better choice, and one that would have helped the film stand out even more.

At the end of the day, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, as a remake, is not a bad film by any means and will hit the right spot for those looking for anyone looking to kill a few hours, but is hard to recommend when the original film exists and does virtually everything it does, but much better. To their credit, the pair of Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe help keep this watchable. It is a shame their talents are stranded in such a mediocre and utterly unremarkable thriller.

still courtesy of 20th Century Studios

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/