Movie Review: ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ (2025)

For all of its attempts to take a different path from the original and work from Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe, this re-imagining doesn’t spark.

(L to R) Maika Monroe as Polly Murphy and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Caitlin Morales in 20th Century Studios' 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'. Photo by Suzanne Tenner. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

On Hulu from October 22 is ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,’ a remake of the 1992 thriller that preyed upon the worries of parents and concerns about letting strangers into the family home.

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

"Good help is hard to find."

RHorror Thriller

Audience
Score

Release Date: Oct 22, 2025

Run Time: 1 hr 42 min

Starring: Maika Monroe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Raúl Castillo

Watch The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Online

Directed by Michelle Garza Cervera (‘Huesera: The Bone Woman’) from a script by Micah Bloomberg (‘Sanctuary’), this new take on the story stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (‘10 Cloverfield Lane’), Maika Monroe (‘It Follows’), Raúl Castillo (‘Task’) and Martin Starr (‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’).

Initial Thoughts

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Caitlin Morales in 20th Century Studios' 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'. Photo by Suzanne Tenner. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

It would appear that few films these days are safe from the remake treatment, but cult thrillers from the 1990s (even ones with the likes of Curtis Hanson at the helm) would seem to be fair game to receive a fresh coat of 2020s paint.

Yet in switching things up for ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’, the filmmaking team haven’t exactly found the right gear.

Script and Direction

(L to R) Nora and Lola Contreras as Josie Morales, Maika Monroe as Polly Murphy , Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Caitlin Morales and Mileiah Vega as Emma Morales in 20th Century Studios' 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'. Photo by Suzanne Tenner. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Writer Micah Bloomberg takes the basic concept of Amanda Silver’s 1992 story –– a wealthy family dealing with issues hires a young woman as a nanny for their children, only for things to take a psychologically scary turn –– and has filled it with a few different, updated ideas, including themes of mental health and paranoia.

Yet in changing the focus of the film, he has also somehow drained it of tension or real entertainment value, leading to this coming off as a cheap-and-cheerless knock-off of the original.

Director Michelle Garza Cervera, meanwhile, who has horror experience on her resume, never quite overcomes the lackluster bones of the film, wasting committed performances that also are stymied by the words on the page and some chemistry problems.

Cast and Performances

Maika Monroe as Polly Murphy in 20th Century Studios' 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'. Photo by Suzanne Tenner. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Both Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe have succeeded in this genre before –– and Monroe has been in some excellent horrors –– but ‘Cradle’ simply wastes what they have to offer.

It doesn’t help that no one in the film really connects with anyone else, leaving them feeling truly like characters going through the plot motions rather than believable humans, while certain plot twists are telegraphed with all the subtlety of a baseball bat to the head.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) Maika Monroe as Polly Murphy and Mileiah Vega as Emma Morales in 20th Century Studios' 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'. Photo by Suzanne Tenner. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Adding in same-sex subtexts and attempts to mimic the lurid power of the original don’t ever really paper over some serious cracks in this one.

It’s less rocking the cradle, more giving it a bored nudge.

‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ receives 59 out of 100.

What’s the story of ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Caitlin Morales, an upscale suburban mom who brings a new nanny, Polly Murphy (Maika Monroe), into her home, only to discover she is not the person she claims to be.