The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) User Reviews

The Nanny From Hell

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 22 March 2006]

Just the opening scene turns off a lot of people, but that's too because all of the film - all of it - is interesting with Rebecca DeMornay excelling at a vengeful, psychotic killer nanny. This "nanny" does about everything you could do to ruin a family. Yes, she's the nanny from Hell.

I always thought Annabella Sciorra had an interesting face with a knockout smile, at least back in late '80s, early '90s, so I enjoy watching her. Here, she plays a good woman who is married to a good man (Matt McCoy) - wow, there's an oddity in modern films: a happy and faithful husband and wife!

This is an involving film. Once you are into it, you're hooked and the 100-plus minutes go by pretty fast. DeMornay is so effective in her role you just can't wait to see her exposed for who she is and justice done to her.

I did think Sciorra's character would have needed more to go on to come to the right conclusion near the end, but, usually every film has some question marks regarding credibility. The violent, ending scene is very suspenseful and well- done.

Rebecca de Mornay is the nanny from hell...scary thriller...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 31 December 2006]

You have to hand it to the makers of THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE--once the story starts to unravel, you have to stay tuned to find out how this manipulative bitch will get her comeuppance. It's as simple as that. We know from the start that she has evil intentions, but we never know how evil they are until she starts a series of manipulative acts that demonstrate how cunning and remorseless she is.

REBECCA de MORNAY is so convincingly evil that you have to wonder why her career didn't skyrocket after this. It's a performance worthy of award consideration, but both she and the film itself have been largely forgotten. None of the supporting players, with the exception of JULIANNE MOORE, have become household names but they're all quite effective.

The ending may be somewhat predictable--and most welcome when it finally comes--but it's still stylishly done and a satisfying conclusion to a tale of household terror when a nanny's rage goes amok because of an incident in her past involving a woman whom she perceives as ruining her husband's life. Sure, it's been done before, but never quite so cunningly presented.

Everything was fine until they hired that babysitter...

[The_Void · 7/10 · 2 October 2005]

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is the cornerstone of the trashy chick flick sub-genre. Many films since have used the same formula that makes this one a success, and most have failed. The reason this film is almost a resounding success has nothing to do with the plot or characters, however, it's the way that director Curtis Hanson handles it. The man who would go on to find acclaim with the astounding L.A. Confidential directs with the utmost still, and while there are few absolutely shocking sequences in this film; you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise due to the way that Hanson handles every scene. The movie leaves a lot of room for suspense, and every instant is made the best of by the director. The plot seems rather routine these days (and it probably did back in 1992), as we see a good all-American family hire the 'perfect' babysitter. She's not quite so perfect, however, and as we watch her pull down the family she's supposed to be helping from within, this becomes abundantly clear.

One thing that makes this film hard to like for some people is the fact that almost every motivation in the film is extremely unlikely. Would you hire a babysitter who apparently 'just knew' you wanted one? Wouldn't you become suspicious when everything started going wrong after you hired her? The list goes on, it really does, and it would seem that writer Amanda Silver just wanted to portray certain plots and didn't care too much how the characters fit into them. It's also obvious that the script was written by a woman throughout, with many of the sequences being more aimed towards women. None of these bad points really harm it though, because it's so well handled that it's hard not to just sit back and enjoy yourself. The centrepiece when it comes to the stagy set pieces is definitely the one with the greenhouse, which is both psychologically pleasing and suspense filled. The acting is just fine, with Rebecca De Mornay slotting into the deranged psycho role nicely. The best thing about this film for me is definitely the way that the babysitter manipulates the children and engineers situations to her advantage. This may be trash at the end of the day, but it's fiendishly done!

A Film That Rocks the Audience

[Poseidon-3 · 10 October 2002]

Long before the acclaim of "L.A. Confidential", director Curtis Hansen offered up this trim, effectively manipulative and suspenseful film. Sciorra is a pregnant woman whose doctor (magnificently slimy de Lancie) molests her during an office visit. The ramifications of her subsequent charges bring about the entrance of De Mornay into her life. De Mornay poses as a nanny and almost immediately wreaks havoc on Sciorra's household, taking charge of it and manipulating the family, all while smiling pleasantly. The story is almost completely implausible and the credibility of the script is stretched further and further as it goes along. However, it matters not because of the sure-handed, inventive direction and the dedicated performance of De Mornay. Taking a cue from Hitchcock, much of the dirty business occurs in daylight among stark white walls and bright outdoor settings. De Mornay insinuates herself into the household and into the minds of the viewer with an unsettling and fascinating malevolence. No one is safe as she meticulously works her dread. Aside from her plots against Sciorra, her shocking behavior includes calling a mentally challenged man a 'retard' and saying the 'F' word to a grade school child. This decidedly un-PC approach is at compelling odds with Sciorra and her yuppie husband who both represent everything annoying and stereotypical about their type and status ('talking' to their kids, 'processing' everything psychologically, et al) They are well off and think they're 'on to' life, yet he's a dim bulb and she overreacts to everything possible. This makes a certain faction of the audience delight in seeing them tormented. Cutting a swath through all the bull is the stunning, fire-breathing, no-nonsense Moore as Sciorra's friend. This is one of the greatest supporting turns of the '90's. She owns every scene she's in, yet ultimately can't beat De Mornay, thus creating a terrific onscreen rivalry right from the start. Moore has never looked this wonderful again, nor essayed this brittle a role, but at least it exists as a monument to her talents at playing a ball-breaking bitch goddess. The excitement leading up to her confrontation with De Mornay is palpable (thanks in part to some great editing.) The male cast is weak. McCoy is often just plain bad and Hudson is embarrassing as a 'slow' handyman. Sciorra does well in a part that does her no favors. The film was a massive (surprise) hit, but she wasn't able to ride it to anything much afterwards. At least De Mornay was briefly lifted to a higher position in the film industry. Moore has fared the best. Zima (in her film debut!) is exceptionally cute as the daughter and does a great job. She later won a role on "The Nanny". The film inspired a raft of imitators featuring killer-sitters, killer-temps, etc... but none found the wide audience that this enjoyed. It's a credit to De Mornay (and Hanson) that despite being petite and feminine, she comes across as chilling and dangerously strong and violent.

Nothing "Fine" about this Nanny ...

[ElMaruecan82 · 7/10 · 30 September 2015]

Sorry for the lousy pun but a nanny-themed movie starring Madeline Zima was asking for it, now, let the review start.

You have a good typical American Family made of a handsome blue-eyed scientist with a sexy beard, played by an actor whose fame didn't rise much since the film, a frail devoted asthmatic housewife who looks like the twin sister of Talia Shire with a nicer hairdo, played by Annabella Sciorra, and a smart little girl (Zima), that's for the initial picture, and this happy family is looking for a nanny to take care of their newborn son and brother, so that Claire (the wife) can take care of a greenhouse project. Kind of a boring premise ... but there's more spicy elements about this family, and it's all wrapped up in the first 15 minutes, like a script school-case.

During a visit, Claire was victim of sexual abuse from her gynecologist, she sued him, other mothers complained, he killed himself, his wife played by Rebecca De Mornay didn't inherit the money and what's more, she has a miscarriage in the process, and become permanently sterile. To call it a strike of 'bad luck' would be the understatement of the millennium. Still, in her bad luck, while watching the news, she could catch the name and face of that woman who was indirectly responsible for all the personal mayhem she went through. You gotta wonder what the TV and police were thinking. Anyway, now, guess who's gonna offer his services for the nanny job?

Good thriller always rely on simple concept. "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" is no exception, it was an unexpected hit in 1992, the same year of a similarly themed film "Single White Female". Both are based on the same "Stranger Within" concept, when the lives of an ordinary family or group of persons are affected by the entrance of a next- door stranger, and it is a source of heart-pounding psychological thrills that was made started with "Fatal Attraction" and "Misery". The "Stranger Within" thriller is almost a synonym of 'fatal attraction'... in fact, the film could have as a tag-line "Fatal Attraction with a Nanny", just like "Single White Female" was "Fatal Attraction with a Roommate".

So, there are reasons though why this film wasn't as memorable as the one with Glenn Close, the surprise effect asked for more tricks and it's likely that the ones used in the film never really catch the audience off guard. Rewatching the film myself after 15 years, I realized that the realism, as used in Curtis Hanson's film, was made of the self- canceling effect between things happening too conveniently well for the villainess for the first three quarters, and then for the good guys in the last one. The evolution of the narrative is so schematically well-oiled that even the greatest effects are still attenuated by their predictability. It wows at times but hardly with a major 'w'.

Just to give you an idea, my younger brother who has seen less movies than I (ten years younger) immediately guessed that the big black retarded guy (played by the only Ghostbuster whose name is hardly remembered) was gonna be the last-minute hero, needless to say that he harbored a triumphant smile when at the climax, the poor daddy broke his legs and was immediately disqualified from the final confrontation. Anyone could've guess that but he also predicted that the slutty evil baby sitter would frame him so that he can be expelled from the house, and that was impressive.

He still enjoyed the film and I still did, but it is true that, suspension of disbelief was too demanding. So many things go totally wrong as soon as Peyton, the baby sitter makes her entrance that it's a wonder how Claire can't reassemble the pieces of he puzzle. She wants to wear a sexy dress, but she finds a last-minute stain and then puts the something that looks like extracted from the wall cover of a grandma's house. But let's say she's naive and at least, the character of the friend Marlene, played by sexy Julianne Moore never really trusted Peyton, but then how about a missing application letter, how about the sudden change of behavior of her daughter. But let's just say that, given how these tricks work, and how efficient they are in their frustrating effects, I accept them for the sake of what I expect from a B-movie thriller.

Still, there are three things I can't really forgive and that could've been easily avoided, Peyton could have faked a resume, after all the troubles that affected Claire's family, they would take some precautions and not let any stranger entering their world, just like that. Secondly, I don't think a woman who didn't have a child, much more sterile, can breast-feed a baby, and last but not least, the depiction of asthma. Not only these wheezing noises were annoying because they were never matching Clair's chests' movements, but when you decide that your movie will have a main character suffering from asthma, is it too much asking some tutorial about the proper use of an inhaler. All she did was making a quick click, she never put the inhaler in her mouth and it didn't feel as if she was inhaling anything.

If you care for realism, the film might not be your cup of tea, but that's not a reason to dismiss it, "Fatal Attraction", as a milestone as it was (and it wasn't) had its more-or- less ridiculously unrealistic parts. So, Hanson's film is enjoyable for what it serves well, a solid villainous performance, and an eerie sometimes sexy atmosphere that creates a well-packaged average psychological thriller, that's all, but as far as realism is concerned, well, it's not a good sign when a film is an inspiration for these hilarious '100 THings I learned" threads ...

An entertaining and suspenseful drama

[NewEnglandPat · 7/10 · 26 June 2005]

This domestic thriller was a box-office hit despite its mid-level marquee pull and is entertaining and delivers plenty of suspense and shocks along the way. A vengeful widow who has lost her husband to a suicide and suffers a miscarriage plans to get even with the woman who caused the trouble by filing a sexual molestation suit against her husband. Rebecca de Mornay is the evil nanny who plots her revenge with relish, her satisfaction obvious as her plans begin to bear fruit. The nanny is not swayed by the innocence of the young girl or the newborn baby she is hired to care for and intends to destroy the entire family. Naturally, the parents are clueless as to what is going on until much later, while de Mornay methodically turns the household into her own domain, holding it in a grip of fear. Annabella Sciorra is the wife and mother who confronts de Mornay in the final moments. Graeme Revell contributes a nice music score.

Great suspense, predictable plot

[gcd70 · 6/10 · 12 September 2007]

Good thriller that tells the story of a vengeful woman who, by taking the position of nanny, seeks revenge on the family she holds responsible for the loss of her husband and her unborn child.

Rebecca De Mornay is very convincing as Peyton, the widow whom we firmly believe is capable of anything, while Ernie Hudson is good as mentally disabled social worker Solomon. Graeme Revell's music is good too, even if it is reminiscent of Howard Shore's "Silence of the Lambs".

The plot is predictable from the outset, and relies solely on suspense. Director Curtis Hanson makes this work well though, and keeps us on the edge of our seats.

Friday, May 22, 1992 - Knox District Centre

But I firmly believe, what goes around comes around.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 15 July 2011]

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Amanda Silver. It stars Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Julianne Moore and Ernie Hudson. Plot sees De Mornay as Peyton Flanders, on the surface a seemingly perfect nanny, but below beats the heart of a revenge fuelled maniac. Something that the Bartel family are about to find out.

It's the sort of thriller that arrived in the 1990's and got positive notices and thrilled many a cinema viewer. Yet you look at some of the internet ratings and you would be fooled into thinking that the film is not very good. Fact is is that these type of thrillers have, with the advent of time and a relaxation of censorship etc, not aged well to the point of not being able to satiate the current generation of thrill seeker. So it's most likely going to be hard for the unimpressed viewer of today to believe that Hanson's movie was once the subject of much media musings and talk show debates. Its theme of a terror within the family home, coupled with a beginning involving a less than honourable gynaecologist, really goes for the throat of the female viewer. The guys, meanwhile, just have to sit back and observe how man of the family Matt McCoy deals with the expanding problem in the home, while the shapely form of De Mornay, in spite of her seriously having a screw loose, is sure to be appealing to the red blooded male.

True enough some of its silly, and naturally contrived, but it does tick many of the great thriller boxes. It's also boosted by two impressively strong lead female turns from Sciorra, who is dressed down plainly and perfectly gets to grips with the nuclear mom act, and De Mornay, who paces the onset of her terror campaign with some aplomb; a campaign dotted with icy cold bitch moments and sensual niceties. In support Hudson is very good, but the trajectory of his mentally challenged character is telegraphed very early on, while Moore works well with what (sadly) little screen time she gets. Hanson keeps the tension tight, slowly tightening the noose in little snatches, and the ending, that arguably holds no surprises if you watch many thrillers of this ilk, is handled skillfully and closes the film in a wave of fists, kicks, blood and broken bodies. Job done. Even if it did at the time set the nanny trade back a few years! 7.5/10

Will rock your world!

[OllieSuave-007 · 9/10 · 19 July 2004]

This is a chilling movie to spend a day or night with. Mrs. Moss (Rebecca De Mornay) seeks revenge on Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra) for reporting her husband Dr. Moss for sexual harassment, which lead to the doctor's suicide and precipitating Moss' miscarriage. She poses as nanny Peyton for the Bartel family, with the intention of raising hell.

Rebecca De Mornay gave an outrageously evil performance. The plot is solid and fast-paced; the only problem I have is the method Claire used to interview Peyton for the nanny position. She only asked Peyton, "How did you become to be a nanny?" leaving out relevant questions like health, personal background, prior jobs, resumes, way with kids, etc. Other than that, I enjoyed watching this movie and especially liked Julianne Moore's character, with her making smart, acid wit remarks. I especially liked her line "You have a Harvard education, make something up."

Overall, a great mystery movie with some good action mixed in.

Grade A

sometimes, you gotta be gross to be scary

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 6 June 2005]

Much like "Rear Window", this movie brings up a serious question: Whom can you trust? It all begins one day in Seattle, when Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra) goes to her gynecologist. She gets the feeling that he's merely fondling her. After she reports this, several other women say the same thing, prompting the gynecologist to commit suicide. Soon afterward, his widow (Rebecca DeMornay) goes into labor. But the baby dies. Now she has only one thing on her mind: revenge.

That's where the movie gets really creepy. Assuming the name Peyton Flanders, she goes to work as a nanny for the Bartels. In the process, she not begins to act as a mother for the new baby, but she gets into everyone's confidence. And if anyone distrusts her...well, let's just say that she's way ahead of them.

If "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" makes you suspicious of your friends, then it's probably doing it's job. Director Curtis Hanson brings the same kind of intensity that he brought to "LA Confidential" and "8 Mile". You may never feel the same after watching this movie.

B-Movie

[Panamint · 4/10 · 23 May 2005]

This is an ordinary "B" movie. If you watch it with such expectations you won't be disappointed. Otherwise you will try to read something into this shallow film but find nothing there. Also, the music is bland and adds nothing. In a thriller the music should contribute more.

DeMornay elevates above her usual B-actress talent and gives an adequate performance. Sciorra is not a great actress but has a sunny personality that is sufficient here. However, the husband role as written (and the actor portraying the husband) are awful, no better than worthless cardboard.

The ending "rescue" scene featuring Ernie Hudson is completely predictable from the start of the movie. Hudson does a pretty good job here considering what he has to work with, but the role was written for a specific plot purpose and it is preposterous.

The other supporting actors are simply outstanding, especially the mom's best friend and the little girl who portrays the daughter.

First hour is dull, but there are a few exciting scenes toward the end.

Put your Hand on the Cradle and Rock now!

[Sharkey360 · 9/10 · 28 December 2000]

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle is a very solid thriller thanks to naturalism and realism. This is one of the best thrillers ever made, and it's just too bad it did not get the attention and praise it deserves. For one thing, we've seen many thrillers that lacked realism while some were not thrilling at all.

HTRTC has it all. A solid story, solid cast, good directing and best of all, a high level of realism. The story can actually happen to any family in America, or anywhere in the world. The cast is great, and even though there's basically no "big name phenomenon" (well, Julian Moore's now very popular but not yet here) in this film, the performances are very good. In fact, great! Rebecca De Mornay, who's young and very beautiful in this film, has the best performance as the smart-beautiful-deadly Peyton. She's very convincing as both wife and nanny, as well as temptress and killer!

Take note of some of the "sinful scenes" in this movie. Some scenes can be very disturbing (not disgusting) but if you're matured enough, then you'll get over this movie well. The "sinful scenes" do make a wake-up call in your family life. Heck, better watch out for those evil nannies!

I highly recommend watching this movie, even though it does not have any big superstardom at all. No special effects, no high tech gimmicks, no big super stars, just a great story to watch. What are you waiting for? Put your Hand on the Cradle and Rock!

Entertaining Thriller with a good cast.

[insomniac_rod · 7/10 · 3 January 2007]

Really interesting thriller with a sexy premise that many men would like to experience. Well, not that many but still.

This is a mainstream movie with a plot that has been used several times on the b-industry ("Friend Of The Family II" for example).

The plot is simple but works and it's very well covered by a great cast lead by Rebecca DE Mornay who delivers a psychotic but believable performance. The rest of the cast is also great and makes you care about them.

Well, everything becomes really ugly when De Mornay's character feels left out of the family where she worked for; suddenly she starts killing everyone on her way and even gets a worker of trust fired because of her lies. He then become enemy with the children (yes including the baby) and that's when the mother takes action.

This is an okay thriller that will keep you entertained with the occasional suspense sequences and minimal violence.

Worths a watch if it airs on cable. It has generated somewhat a fan database.

With Parents Like These the Kids Would be Better Off as Orphans

[aimless-46 · 5/10 · 27 March 2005]

"The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" looks good and was well produced. Rebecca DeMornay's and Julianne Moore's performances were excellent; and the rest of the cast is decent. The cinematography was ambitious and included many visual and audio elements that both denote and connote meaning in support of the story.

It's logical to pay attention to all these subtle details because you expect that things like shot selection, framing, minor objects in a set, and background details were intentional-part of a master design. Unfortunately, all that is right is ultimately wasted because the basic story structure is inexplicably out of alignment. The basic story is a lot like Sam Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs", where the sanctuary of a household is threatened by invasion from outside. And like "Straw Dogs" a lot of energy is utilized to create moral ambiguity between the household and the invaders. "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" actually creates a greater ambiguity as the invader (Peyton) has even more reason for her actions (and our sympathy) than the father in "Straw Dogs".

Plus the director takes great pains to portray Claire and her husband unsympathetically. Claire is shown to be selfish, reactionary, and self-congratulatory. She acts without regard to the consequences of her actions, unconcerned about the wreckage she creates. To her everything is black and white, and she is a crusader for right. It was a conscious decision to portray her in this way and it is natural to assume that it was done for a reason.

Normally the reason to expend a lot of energy in this direction is that it opens up a host of opportunities for giving the film an unconventional treatment. For example, it would be great irony if the same irresponsible over-reaction by Claire that led to Payton's husband's suicide came back to destroy Claire. The story was set up for this when Payton was able to exploit Claire's character defects and manipulate her into banishing Soloman from the house. It would have been a much more satisfying resolution to have Claire die because Soloman was not present to rescue her, leaving Payton to inherit the family. If the moral tone of that ending was too negative they could have just killed each other.

Watching this film one wonders if the director and screenwriter shot a more interesting ending but were forced to go back and re-shoot the final sequence using this lame conventional resolution. That would at least explain the huge disconnection between story and ending; leaving everyone disappointed and puzzled by something so inconsistent with the earlier elements in the film.

Bottom line-with parents like these the kids would be better off in foster care and with endings like this film viewers are better off paying attention to production technique and ignoring the actual story.

Eerily rings true

[boycebrown-1 · 3 April 2004]

When people see horror movies that really effect them, they lock themselves away. Now someone can pick the lock. This is a fairly good movie that really hits home. I admit it is extremely similar to "Fatal Attraction" but I like this movie better. This time it seems Peyton is a little more evil than Alex and she has a better motive. Peyton is a nanny, she is to take care of Emily and Joe, she has different plans in mind. The acting is pretty good, the characters are well developed and it is a nice, cozy little horror you care rely on when nothing is on TV. I have to say in a way, it reminds me of "Rosemary's Baby". This time though, it is the one who rocks the cradle that is corrupt.

Solid Thriller

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 2 October 2015]

After her humiliated husband kills himself, an embittered pregnant widow (Rebecca DeMornay) loses her child, and embarks on a mission of vengeance against a woman and her family.

What bad can be said about this film? If anything, the role of Solomon could be complained about. Not Ernie Hudson's portrayal, which is pretty good, but the very idea of having a mentally challenged man played by someone who is not. It seems off, just a bit, and some may even find it offensive.

What is most interesting is the role filled by Julianne Moore. Honestly, I did not even recognize her! And it is pretty incredible that she is not credited on the back of the DVD case, or on the front. One might think since her rise in stardom ,they would rebrand the film to showcase her...

A gripping thriller with a killer lead in De Mornay!

[movieguy96 · 7/10 · 31 December 2014]

There are some movies which are essentially 'made' by one star. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle is a prime casing point; Rebecca De Mornay, as the 'nanny from hell' "Peyton Flanders", is chilling, seductive, and simply stunning, as she manipulates her way through the Bartel household, as well as us, the audience.

I think the the film is great for testing our allegiance to the family themselves; even though we constantly feel anxious for their safety, and are aligned as to the tragedies that befall them, for which we can only sit back and look on in horror, there's also an underlying morbid desire to see "Peyton" win, which is exemplified by De Mornay's bewitchingly sultry performance, and her unwavering determination to get revenge.

As for the rest of the essentially B-list cast, there's winning performances all round, with special mention to Ernie Hudson as the family's intellectually disabled handyman, who displays great warmth and emotional depth to his role, and to the Bartel family (Annabella Sciorra, Matt McCoy, Madeline Zima) themselves; each actor delivering a compellingly real profoundness to their individual roles, which goes a long way in making them much more compassionate, and increasing our allegiance with them.

Indeed, it's that allegiance to the family which helps in papering over any predictability or cheesiness in the film, as despite our initial morbid desire to see "Peyton" win, it's that sympathetic but not overtly sentimental view of the Bartels which means, in this movie at least, that the audience also naturally want the typical happy ending that we've come to expect from Hollywood.

It's Hollywood's loss that they've never fully tapped into De Mornay's clear talent and charisma though! One hopes that her career will be revived in the future. She sure does make an impact here, and her performance etches itself into the memory.

Going along at a good steady pace, which builds to an exciting climax, director Cliff Hanson (The River Edge, L.A Confidential, 8 Mile) has crafted yet another witty, thrilling, and inspired piece, which re-invents the whole 'never let strangers into your house' premise with real bite, so if it's a tense, unnerving, but very fun late-night thriller you're looking for, look no further!

Really thrilling

[hellholehorror · 7/10 · 1 October 2017]

This really was a thrilling film. It was very well acted indeed and this contributed to the overall tone of foreboding and fear. The film was effective in generating a story and setting up an excellent finale. There wasn't much violence or killing but that is not the point of this film. It was meant to be a scary film for anyone with children or for anyone who can empathise with the situation of letting someone into your life so personally and that they have far more control over you than you would like to think. The problem with some parts was that the happy family felt unrealistic and forced but the writing and acting were incredible so that was soon forgotten in the heat of the moment.

"Good Thriller!"

[gwnightscream · 6/10 · 14 June 2014]

This 1992 thriller stars Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Julianne Moore and Ernie Hudson. Sciorra plays Claire Bartel, a pregnant woman who becomes molested by a doctor, Victor Mott (John De Lancie). Soon, she reports him and he takes his own life. De Mornay (Risky Business) plays Victor's widow who has a miscarriage after her husband's death and she seeks revenge on Claire and her family by posing as her nanny, Peyton Flanders. Claire welcomes her into her home, but eventually discovers she's not who she seems. McCoy (Police Academy 5 & 6) plays Claire's husband, Michael, Moore (Nine Months) plays Marlene Craven, Claire & Michael's friend and Hudson (Ghostbusters 1 & 2) plays Solomon, The Bartel's friend & carpenter. This is a good thriller with a good cast, especially De Mornay because she's a great villain. I recommend this.

One of the best of its kind

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 7 April 2018]

THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE is one of the most popular of the psycho thrillers that overloaded cinemas in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the wake of FATAL ATTRACTION. It's up there with the best of its kind, despite a simplistic storyline and some overblown sentimentality at times. The predictability isn't a problem when the story is so much fun.

Rebecca De Mornay is perfectly cast as the ice-cold nanny who integrates herself into an ordinary suburban family to right some old-time wrongs. The rest of the cast are good, even if their characters end up being flat, with the stand-out none other than Ernie Hudson as the handyman whose presence acts as the film's dramatic lynchpin.

Curtis Hanson wrote and directed a lot of interesting thrillers during his career and this is another feather in his cap. The film feels old-fashioned, Hitchcockian in fact, and delightfully cinematic. You can guess what's going to happen from beginning to end, but it's the little touches, the psychological games and twists, that really make it zing.

Pretty Good film.

[Movieman-133 · 7/10 · 14 June 1999]

Well, the film was good. The main thing that made it work was Rebecca De Mornay as the crazed Nanny. Her evil eyes were effective and her rage and mischief with Soloman, Annabella's husband, the glass house, her secrets Annabella's daughter were really cool. The opening was quite effective and I can understand her need for revenge. Rebecca was quite attractive and the scenes of breast feeding were very intimate. Julianne Moore was excellent in her minor role but she was so sexy, intelligent, and memorable that I wished they showed more of her. There is suspense in a few scenes and my only complaint is the way the ending for these thriller movies work like Fatal Attraction, Single White Female. I sometimes wish there was a better resolution to the problem and I don't really like it when cool people die. The story is interesting because of the decepetionous way that Rebecca works but the ending in this type of movie is predictable and unfortunate. The acting makes the film work and overall it was good, not great. 2 1/2 out of 4.

OH, The STUPID is Strong with This ONE

[JKEBY · 1/10 · 4 July 2019]

I remembered being suckered in by two friends to watch this Fatal Attraction rip-off. While the 1st 20 minutes were decent, the WORD LOGIC quickly went the way of the Dodo bird. I'm sure the writer was hoping we would just stroll along and ignore the plot holes, but it was so obvious what they were.

For example:

It is virtually unbelievable that Michael and Claire would hire Peyton as their nanny so quickly without thoroughly checking her background first, let alone not interview other applicants.

It is against Federal Law to post the name and picture of a sexual assault victim.

After our dipstick heroes hire Peyton for the position of nanny, very bad things start to happen. Yet Michael and Claire never put two and two together.

And my favorite...............

Michael falls down a flight of stairs. When his wife finds him on the floor she asks if he's hurt.

Michael responds, "I'm OK honey. But you'll have to call the police BECAUSE MY LEGS ARE BROKEN"

I'm no Einstein, but two broken legs does not fit the definition of "OK"

One Heck of a Thriller.

[Herag · 8/10 · 5 April 2004]

Rebecca De Mornay and Julianne Moore, is what Hollywood is all about-Stars who look like Stars and act like Stars. In fact Moore, went to fame and fortune after this movie. This is incredibly gripping movie with some fine acting by the cast including the actor playing the retarded handyman. The casting is superb and the direction by Hansen is near perfect But, it is Rebecca De Mornay (Peyton) with her ever conniving and double faced sweet talk that steals the show (even the red apple takes the brunt of her vengeance!) She thrives in her role and a role that is custom made for her. The "Clair" character does so well with her asthmatic attacks, that even a real patient could not have done better. This movie has it all, beautiful and glamorous actresses, suspense, thrill and one of the best movies that I had the pleasure to watch and watch I did eleven times!!

trashy Lifetime movie premise handled with care and good acting by Hanson and company

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 17 May 2010]

Somehow when Curtis Hanson gets a hold of something as a director he's able to make it work far better than it should (if not all the time then with a good average for him to keep getting work). Case in point, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. He takes material that could, in lesser or just more hack-like hands, be a simple TV movie about a woman scorned badly getting her payback against the family that not-sorta-really did this to her. It's about what happens when a woman loses everything- this being a widow of a doctor-gynecologist who was a creep who took too much pleasure in his work and who killed himself when faced with harassment charges- including her child in a miscarriage. After the woman, Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra) has her baby, a new nanny comes around. With her blond hair and cold blue eyes and perfect demeanor and posture, she's practically perfect to come in and take care of her new tot and the little girl sister of the house. What could go wrong here?

The plot Peyton Flanders, nay Mrs. Mott, unravels is ingenious: unravel the family by focusing the bad attention on the mother, make people in the house dislike her, and at some point after getting tons of love from everyone kill her off. It helps as well that she still has her breast milk and, you know, gets the baby hooked up with that. The script by Amanda Silver could slip into cliché at any time... and in ways it actual does, sometimes rather startlingly. She even puts in a supporting character that should be blatant (or back in the 1950's could have been a racist caricature), with mentally challenged Solomon (Ernie Hudson), who knows what's really going on but can't speak up due to how he is, and certainly can't defend himself when Peyton pulls her mind-game crap against him. It should be all win for her, with this happy family.

Characters are drawn out in a believable way. We don't doubt that Peyton can do all of this since she's had time to prepare, like a mastermind constructing an intricate game, pitting sides against one another, a chess-master with an ignorant opponent. And director Curtis Hanson casts his film to a fine tune; this is a group of people that take these characters seriously (Hudson most surprising, as I felt for his character if only because of his performance). We feel the vulnerability that shows little by little from Claire from Sciorra's own ability to show it so well, and De Mornay has some of her best work of her whole career here. Supporting players get their teeth to sink in too: Julianne Moore pops up for a few scenes as a tough career woman but not a bad one, and for her few moments she's kind of stunning, for how little she's given to do.

Oh there are some big set-pieces, and the eventual climactic showdown in the house in a kind of last-ditch effort to get what she wants. But by this point Hanson has not cheapened too much of the drama, at least for the melodrama he's after. This isn't masterpiece theater, it's a tough little thriller in the guise of a suburbia, where underneath the warm front of happy children and happy mentally challenged workers, there's some nastiness that can't be gotten rid of (albeit it can come in handy when confronting the school-yard bully as Peyton does here). Good work all around, surprising even, and something Lifetime movie-makers should watch as a benchmark of high quality, if that means much.

All the suspense is sucked out

[stills-6 · 2/10 · 16 October 1999]

A thriller with no thrills? There is absolutely no tension in this movie. There are terror situations, like the greenhouse, but all suspense gets sucked out of it. The scenes where we are supposed to see De Mornay as coldly manipulative are actually manipulative themselves. Someone is trying to tell us that the people around her are so stupid that they can't see what she is doing. I didn't buy it. I like Rebecca De Mornay as an actress, but she has chosen some turkey movies.