The Hand That Rocks The Cradle is a loose remake of the 1992 film of the same name. This iteration is directed by Michelle Garza Cervera (Huesera: The Bone Woman) with a screenplay from Micah Bloomberg.
The film follows Polly Murphy (Maika Monroe), a nanny, who integrates herself into the life of Caitlyn Morales (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a lawyer and mother struggling to balance everything in her life. At first, Polly seems like the solution to all of Caitlyn’s problems. However, things quickly begin to spiral, and there is much more to Polly than meets the eye.
Maika Monroe (It Follows, Longlegs) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane, Ahsoka) star as Polly and Caitlyn, respectively. Additionally, Raúl Castillo (Army of the Dead, Smile 2) portrays Miguel, Caitlyn’s husband, with Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks, Silicon Valley) as Stewart, Caitlyn’s best friend.
Scream Queens
I spend most of my reviews talking about how actors are typically what makes a film worth watching. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is no different because let’s face it; having Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, two of the best scream queens of the last twenty years, in the same film is a huge draw for horror fans. The film recognizes this and gives them plenty to work with. Monroe is fantastic as Polly. She easily switches between the character’s cold, calculating interior and cheery, easy-going exterior personalities. Winstead naturally has gravitas. Watching her play the various stages of Caitlyn falling apart across the film is the best she’s been since 10 Cloverfield Lane. The dynamics and interplay between the two are the reason to watch this film.
Rounding out the cast are Castillo and Starr. Both don’t have much to do in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Yet, they each fit their roles adequately. With other actors, these smaller supporting parts might not be as impactful and hurt the overall film. Ideally, both Starr and Castillo would get a little more to do in the film, but the movie smartly puts most of its focus on Monroe and Winstead instead.
The other strong point of the film is the rising tension it builds. Cervera keeps things moving along at a nice pace while also giving things enough time to breathe. Each incident in the film builds naturally on the other. This helps things from ever being too boring. However, the final incident of the film both feels too quick and underwhelming in how it plays out.
Narrative Faults
Narratively, the Hulu film falters. While each incident builds on one another, the way The Hand That Rocks the Cradle reveals information about the characters is rather lackluster. Although I can ignore a lot of foolish behavior in films, some characters make some truly egregious choices. This can be irritating but also very funny, which serves to undermine its tone often. The script also doesn’t help. It’s fine for the most part, but occasionally it slips and becomes messier and more unrefined than it should be. It’s the weak link of the whole film and becomes impossible to ignore as the movie goes on.
Music composer Ariel Max has a very memorable score, but most of it is for the wrong reasons. The score can be rather irritating and not in the good way that one would want a horror film score to be. It takes you out of the film. On the other hand, director of photography Jo Willems (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Long Walk), does a good job with blocking and lighting. The film does have the same digital lowlighting that infects most modern streaming films. However, it is slightly better than most as it is easy to see during night scenes and keep track of the action.
The Verdict on The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
While The Hand That Rocks the Cradle ultimately falls flat, it makes up for it with two great performances from Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, along with fantastic tension and atmosphere for the film’s first two-thirds. Despite its low-light digital look that plagues so much of modern filmmaking, the film is otherwise executed well and better than most direct-to-streaming horror out there.
Score: ⅗
The Hand That Rocks The Cradle is now playing on Hulu and Disney+ globally! Be sure to check back with The Cinema Spot for more drama and thriller reviews! And check out our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, and Letterboxd pages!
