Thirty Years Ago, the Doors Were Locked... Why Did the Wife Open Them? [Slate]

Director Feig’s New Film "Housemaid"
A Clever Variation on the 1990s "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"
Sweet Home: The Chilling Truth Hidden Within

Actors Amanda Seyfried (left) and Sydney Sweeney (right) in the movie Housemaid. Photo by AP Yonhap News

※ This article contains numerous spoilers for the movie.

Anxiety is an honest mirror reflecting the spirit of the times. If you look through the chilling cross-section that thriller films explore, you can plainly see what contemporary audiences want to protect and what they feel threatened by. The power of director Paul Feig's film "Housemaid" to captivate North American audiences, despite lukewarm critical reviews, lies precisely here. While it wears the trappings of the domestic thrillers that dominated the 1990s, at its core pulses the transformed spirit of 2026.

The film’s roots clearly trace back to Curtis Hanson's "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" (1992). However, the destination is the exact opposite. Over a span of 30 years, the source of anxiety has shifted from the outside to the inside. This clever betrayal is the very reason for the film's existence.

Movie still cut from "Housemaid"

From 'Fortress' to 'Escape': A Shift in Narrative

In 1990s American society, the value of family was considered sacred and inviolable. The idea that a stranger could disrupt the safety of the home was a major source of fear. In "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle," Peyton (Rebecca De Mornay), who infiltrates a family as a housekeeper to seek revenge, embodied this collective anxiety. The latent fear among audiences at the time-that someone might take over their sweet home-was personified in her character. Inevitably, the story concluded with the expulsion of the intruder and the defense of the family.

Movie still from "Housemaid"

The essence of anxiety captured by "Housemaid" is different. Millie (Sydney Sweeney), the housekeeper with a criminal record, may seem dangerous, but in reality, she is astonishingly devoted and obedient. In contrast, her employer Nina (Amanda Seyfried) is closer to a dysfunctional personality-unpredictable, eccentric, and irritable. Yet her bizarre behavior is not madness, but a scream-a desperate defense mechanism to avoid breaking down under the emotional abuse of her husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar).

The grand mansion is nothing more than a glamorous wrapping that conceals this sad truth. In reality, it is the suffocating scene of gaslighting orchestrated by Andrew. The place that should be the safest sanctuary is, in fact, a "prison" that must be escaped. This makes the direction of anxiety clear: the real threat is not a stranger climbing over the wall. Rather, it is the controlling husband closest at hand, and the obsessive family system that demands perfection, that serve as the hosts of fear.

With the source of anxiety having moved inward, the equation for survival inevitably changes as well. The narrative naturally shifts from defending the family to seeking escape. To break free from the hellish system, the outsider is willingly recruited as both accomplice and agent. The thrill of this subversion-where the intruder becomes the savior and the victim becomes the architect-strikes at the heart of contemporary deficiencies.

Visual Sterility... and the Survival Instinct Hidden Within

Director Feig, known for his stylish thrillers such as "A Simple Favor" (2018), once again demonstrates his strengths. Particularly striking is his depiction of the mansion as a showroom devoid of any sense of real life. The unreal, magazine-spread-like space offers not comfort, but a sense of psychological claustrophobia for the audience. It serves as a perfect metaphor for the patriarchal control established by Andrew.

Movie still from "Housemaid"

Amanda Seyfried’s performance puts the finishing touch on this suffocating setup. For much of the film’s first half, she cleverly plays into the audience’s expectations by portraying the hysterical wife-a classic 1990s thriller clich?. At the pivotal moment, all of her neuroses are redefined as a meticulous survival act to evade her husband’s surveillance.

Ultimately, "Housemaid" borrows the legacy of the 1990s to pierce the wounds of the present. While "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" warned of the collapse of the family, "Housemaid" turns the question around: isn’t the family you’re so desperate to protect actually the prison that confines you? This chilling question is precisely what allows the film to transcend being a mere retro thriller and achieve true contemporaneity.