I may be in the minority when it comes to remakes; if there’s enough time between each one, they don’t always have to justify their existence so long as they’re, well, good. Suffice it to say that’s not usually the case, though there are occasionally a few gems. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Hulu’s 2025 remake of the 1992 film from director Curtis Hanson, won’t necessarily stand out, but it’s the kind of remake that falls somewhere in the middle, standing between not so horrible and not so great.

Directed by Michelle Garza Cervera from a screenplay by Micah Bloomberg, the film follows Caitlyn (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a lawyer and mother of two, who hires Polly (Maika Monroe) to be her children’s nanny after the former previously helped her with a landlord situation months prior. Monroe’s performance instantly alerts us to something not being quite right, though Polly’s motivations for working for Caitlyn, despite being suspicious, remain unclear until a late-stage reveal brings her actions into the light.

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Has Good, But Half-Formed, Ideas

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle toys with tension, building up Polly and Caitlyn’s relationship only briefly before diving headfirst into gaslighting Caitlyn. This lasts for a while before the tension starts to grow thin on that front. We’re given details about Caitlyn and Polly that are sprinkled throughout: Caitlyn was with a woman before marrying Miguel (Raúl Castillo in a wasted role) and she struggled with post-partum depression after her first daughter, Emma (Mileiah Vega), was born (though it’s never directly named beyond being employed to justify no one believing Caitlyn about Polly) and Polly is an orphan who grew up in the foster care system.

The film is a slow-burn but the final face-off between Caitlyn and Polly is underwhelming at best and underwritten at worst. This is thanks to a late reveal that should have come way beforehand to better set the stage for Polly’s reasoning and why Caitlyn is the way she is. To that end, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle has something to say about how certain childhood traumas express themselves in adulthood, as well as the ways in which women may take out their anger on each other instead of those who did them harm. The film nearly gets there in its exploration, but barely scratches the surface of its themes.

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle even teases a sexual relationship between the characters, and there’s a scene that sees Caitlyn watching Polly having sex with another woman. It screams voyeurism, but it’s dropped shortly after. Perhaps it’s meant to alert us to Caitlyn’s own fixation with Polly — which presents itself on more than one occasion — but it doesn’t blossom into anything substantial.

The characters’ differing socioeconomic class is also touched upon, and it comes into sharp clarity later on, especially in the way two people’s lives, though affected to some extent by similar things, can wildly diverge. The ultimate frustration is that these fascinating elements of the film remain blurry. As with Caitlyn’s past post-partum depression, they’re suggestions rather than fully fleshed out ideas.

And yet, Cervera’s film is consistently intriguing, elevated by the dynamic between Winstead and Monroe, who have solid onscreen chemistry. Their performances and onscreen tension gloss over any weaknesses in the script and the overall lack of intensity, which is there initially before it starts to peter out.

The film will keep you watching out of sheer curiosity. What secret is Caitlyn hiding? Why is Polly so fixated on her? Is Polly going to hurt the kids to hurt Caitlyn? It’s that deep sense of intrigue and the promise of a good payoff that keep us riveted despite The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’s half-formed story, whose potential is certainly there even as the filmmakers seem too afraid to take any real risks.