The Housemaid

This film is good, entertaining, solid, and cheesy fun, with just enough serious and surprisingly complex storylines to appeal to both mainstream audiences and lighter film critics. It builds steadily toward a crescendo--perhaps more than one-with a handful of well-timed twists and turns that should satisfy popcorn-loving moviegoers from college age to adulthood.

None of the performances are likely to earn an Academy Award, but the cast does a credible job portraying desperate, flawed, and occasionally unhinged characters. The film is helped along by its beautiful setting, striking home, and an ensemble of attractive actors, which carry it through a few moments where the plot flirts with jumping the shark on believability.

Still, enough thought and structure have gone into the screenplay to make it feel like one of the twist-heavy domestic dramas of past decades, rather than a throwaway thriller. The pacing holds, the stakes escalate,& the film largely earns its moments of excess.

The film follows a young woman who becomes a housemaid for a wealthy family. Soon the housemaid finds out that there's more than meets the eye.

What carries this film are the three central performances from Sweeney, Seyfried, and Sklenar. Seyfried is a particular standout, aptly balancing instability here in the first part of the film, and a kind of charm and gentleness later. It's also nice that the two female leads aren't just ditzy and have some interiority.

As long as you don't take it too seriously, you'll have a good time. The suspense, tension, and dread ratchet up slowly until it reaches an explosive, satisfying ending. The twists are shocking and unexpected. The film is unpredictable and pleasingly chaotic at times. (Disclaimer: I didn't read the source material.) The action scenes are cool and at times graphic, and the romance is hot.

This is not only a fun little thriller, but it also has some substance to it. It can be cathartic and poignant at points. It's not often that mainstream films portray domestic violence in the upper echelons of society, and this film does that while simultaneously offering an entertaining time. I myself was in an abusive relationship not too long ago, with a good-looking, successful, and wealthy person similar to the abuser depicted in this film, that lasted for several years. Like the family in this film, we lived in the suburbs where no one suspected a thing, but of course underneath that manicured exterior he was abusing me. It was relatable and refreshing to see my experience represented on screen.

Mind you, this film is by no means perfect. It feels campy and cheesy for much of the runtime due to the extremity of some actions taken by characters. And the couple sex scenes feel gratuitous. But at the same time, that can all be forgiven as the extremeness and high tension only adds to the fun in this little popcorn flick.

And for those who've been in abusive relationships, particularly with wealthy partners, this film offers the added benefit of being therapeutic. You should know that you're not alone, that there is help out there, and you can always leave the abuse behind.

Enjoy this throwback to the thrillers of the 90s. It's fun.

Greetings again from the darkness. Director Paul Feig hit it big with the outrageous comedy BRIDESMAIDS in 2011, and then he got a lot more interesting as a filmmaker by directing screen adaptations of Darcey Bell novels that were so popular with Book Clubs - A SIMPLE FAVOR (2018) and ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR (2025). There's no need to mess with a good thing, right? This time he's directing another Book Club favorite, Frieda McFadden's 2022 novel. Adapted for the screen by Rebecca Sonnenshine, the movie subjects three gorgeous actors to some off-the-chart twisted and devious turns.

Sydney Sweeney stars as Millie, a young parolee who we see arrive at a stunning mansion (fabricated resume in hand) to interview for a live-in housemaid position. Amanda Seyfried is Nina, the lady of the house, and she has prepared a lovely charcuterie board for the interview before taking Millie on a tour of the place ... including the attic room where Millie will be living as she cleans the house, does some light cooking, and sometimes cares for ice-cold young daughter, Cece (Indiana Elle). Millie sleeps in her car until the phone rings with Nina's job offer.

Now, Nina was the dreamboat perfect host and potential employer during the first meeting, but upon Millie's arrival, her temperament has shifted - full bore psychotic mood shifts, replete with throwing dishes, screaming, and false accusations. Of course, Millie must take the abuse and uncertainty or face serving out the rest of her prison sentence - the details come out much later in the film. Still, Millie might just crack if not for the calm, supportive nature of Nina's rich male model-type husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar, MIDWAY, 2019).

Common sense would tell you that the crazy wife vs the desperate housemaid would be enough for a wild story, but oh, how wrong you would be. Things only get crazier from here, and if we've learned one thing sitting through bizarre movies, it's that the best way to execute a preposterous and outlandish story line is to play it (mostly) straight. And that's what we get here. Of course, many of the twists and turns are easy to predict, but that doesn't cut down on the demented fun - even though it jumps the shark a bit.

It's a fun, wild ride - despite the gaps and the unfortunate lack of substance for supporting characters like Elizabeth Perkins as Andrew's mother, and Michele Morrone as Enzo the groundskeeper. More from either character would have been welcome, although the real star here is Amanda Seyfried who shows incredible range, and never once backs away from the psycho side. I haven't read the book, but for those who have, this film version is more spicy than erotic (save for one hotel scene), and it easily qualifies as a guilty pleasure - especially for those book clubs out there.

Opens in theaters beginning December 19, 2025.

As a huge fan of the book, the movie didn't disappoint me at all! The character portrayals were spot on. Especially Seyfrieds performance as Nina, hand her that Oscar already!!!

I still prefer the book. But the movie actually lived up to my expectations & maybe even more!

I think I actually prefer the ending of the movie over the ending of the book!

Homeless, jobless and just released from a ten year prison sentence for manslaughter Millie (Sydney Sweeney) accepts an unexpected position as a housemaid in the wealthy Winchester household in Nassau, Long Island. The behaviour of mother of one Nina (Amanda Seyfried) then becomes increasingly erratic and abusive towards Millie at the same time as a relationship starts to develop between Millie and Nina's husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar). Desperate not to lose her job, which carries the risk of a return to gaol, Millie is taken on a terrifying psychological rollercoaster ride in which seemingly nothing is as it first appears. Filmed in New Jersey this 2025 feature film is a psychological mystery thriller based on the novel by Freida McFadden (as adapted for the screen by the hilariously named Rebecca Sonnenshine), and directed by Paul Feig, having the same kind of twisting and turning plot as Feig's impressive 'A Simple Favour'. Visceral, contrived, at times unconvincing, more than a touch operatic, tinged with occasional humour, and extremely manipulative as a story (one of the film's main themes of course is manipulation) the film deals with a number of themes and issues including gender, class, silent hidden victims (whether through exploitation in employment or domestic partner abuse), and the socially damaging effects of the so called 'justice system' (stigma, discrimination, amongst other things) and mental health system (the common problem of misdiagnosis - and worse - by doctors). And like any good thriller of this sort it saves one of it's twists til the end, involving Andrew's mum Evelyn (Elizabeth Perkins).