The 1992 original was a chill-inducing affair starring Rebecca De Mornay as Peyton, the new nanny for the Bartel family. For my money, I’ll watch the original over this remake, but this new version also packs a punch.
THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE
What’s it rated? R
When? 2025
Where’s it showing? Hulu
This time, we have Maika Monroe in the nanny role, now named Polly. The Morales family has hired her to watch their two young daughters (Mileiah Vega and Lola Contreras), and at first, parents Miguel (Raúl Castillo) and Caitlin (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) are thrilled with their new in-home hire.
While this version gives Polly differing reasons for revenge, we soon learn that like the nanny of 1992, she didn’t innocently stumble into the family’s life. Calculated, cool, manipulative, and menacing, Polly spins a web to make Caitlin appear to be in a state of crumbling mental health, and Polly cleverly plays the rest of the Morales family like a fiddle.
It works hard to maintain the creep factor that the OG film got so right, successfully in some moments and less so in others. As we descend into the spooky season, I recommend you put both films on your watch list—and get a background check on anyone you invite to live in your home. (105 min.) ∆
This article appears in Nov 6-16, 2025.