Back in 1992, Rebecca De Mornay brought terror to the big screen as a grieving nanny bent on revenge in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and now that sexy thriller has been remade for a new generation. Premiering on the 2025 movie calendar on October 22 (and available to stream with a Hulu subscription) the new Hand That Rocks the Cradle brings two modern-day scream queens together, so do critics think it’s a worthy remake?
Maika Monroe stars as Polly Murphy, a nanny with ulterior motives who gets hired by Caitlyn and Miguel Morales (Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Raúl Castillo). In CinemaBlend’s review of Hulu’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Eric Eisenberg says Winstead and Monroe make a great on-screen pair, and this is definitely one to add to your watchlist this Halloween. He rates it 4 out of 5 stars and writes:
The story’s foundation is the understandable fear of a parent putting the health and safety of their children in the hands of a caregiver, but it builds on top of that an exciting thriller that doesn’t underestimate the audience and is able to successfully unleash a number of surprises. And with its two genre veterans in the principal roles, it’s also able to complete two character arcs with notable complexity that allows one to ultimately see from both perspectives with equal weight.
William Bibbiani of The Wrap says the new horror movie is smart, but not as thrilling as its 1992 counterpart. Still, the critic writes, that’s better than a superficial remake that merely retreads tired story beats. In Bibbiani’s words:
We can celebrate this remake of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle for its new ideas, and the excellent performances by Winstead and Monroe, while still admitting it’s not a great thriller. The foreshadowing is heavy-handed, and not quite to the level of amusing camp. The conclusion is gnarly, kudos for that, but it’s slow in the middle and could have used some more spikes in tension and/or melodrama to propel the narrative forward.
David Rooney of THR says director Michelle Garza Cervera blurs the line between victim and villain in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and while this is far from the worst unnecessary remake, it still is one. Its release on Hulu further cements its fate as quickly forgettable, Rooney says, writing:
This modern twist on a screenplay that originated as Amanda Silver’s film school thesis doubles down on traumatic history and victim-blaming and stirs in some undercooked female homoerotic tension. But it dilutes the original’s lurid pleasures and destabilizes the central dynamic by putting the mother who has it all and the nanny hell-bent on destroying her life in a mental-instability contest. Maybe two damaged women for the price of one seemed a good idea on paper?
David Ehrlich of IndieWire gives the movie a C-, writing that while the lead actresses are a formidable pair, the movie subs what could have been a provocative exploration of feminism with an unsatisfying and suspense-free story of how hurt women hurt women. Ehrlich continues:
A quintessential remake of the streaming era, Hulu’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle takes a sturdy and flavorful library favorite, strips it of any discernible style, modernizes its story in superficially progressive ways that seek to obfuscate its algorithmic conservatism (everyone’s bisexual now, but only as a problematized reaction to childhood trauma), and otherwise leaves its promising young filmmaker with little chance of finding a soul inside the body of a project that was so clearly budgeted as content.
Siddhant Adlakha of Variety says the movie introduces plenty of intrigue, including the mystery behind Polly’s intentions, the queer subplot and the way the fractured cinematography adds to the characters’ discombobulation. However, the final act is just no fun, Adlakha says, writing:
The remake turns the structure of Amanda Silver’s original screenplay inside out, introducing a mystery element to its antagonist’s motives and imbuing the eerie saga with sensibilities that threaten to blossom into delightfully lurid camp. Unfortunately, the piece ends up laid low by a climax that peters out by taking itself too seriously, but the film’s totality is still made worthwhile by its central performances.
It sounds like there are some interesting additions to the 2025 version of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle to differentiate it from the 1992 original. While the critics seem to have enjoyed the performances, many think the themes that the remake introduce aren’t explored deeply enough.
If this sounds like a movie that interests you, it is available to stream now, and if not, there are plenty of other Hulu thrillers like Run to check out on the streaming service.
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