Back in 1992, the thriller “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle” sent chills through audiences and became a hit. I remember visiting the house in Tacoma where it was filmed after release and enjoying the local connection to the film.
Now a new take on the film has emerged on Hulu which stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Caitlan; mother of two who devotes her life to her career and her family. A chance encounter with a perspective former client named Polly (Maika Monroe), soon leads to Polly becoming a Nanny for the family and the children quickly take to her and see why she had a glowing reference from her former employer.
Things slowly start to change as Caitlan becomes more erratic and unstable and due to past issues; her husband worries that she is sliding back into a dark place. Polly soon becomes the target of Caitlan’s focus as she is convinced that Polly is manipulating her eldest daughter and situations to undermine her and soon a struggle erupts.
What is soon resolved as a series of misunderstandings soon becomes something much darker as secrets from the past emerge and the thin line between revenge and justice becomes blurred and deadly dangers are revealed.
The movie held my attention and was a nice update on the material. I found the characters to be flawed yet understandable as it was easy to have sympathy for all of the major players as the message of actions having consequences was very clear. I liked the fact that the antagonist had what I considered a worthy motivation for their actions although like with “Fatal Attraction” I did not agree with the fact that certain parties came away largely unscathed when they were just as much at fault.
The final act may seem a bit Hollywood in that it moves away from a slow-building tale of suspense into a more action-laden tale but it was engaging and delivered an enjoyable watch.
3.5 stars out of 5
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