The reviews are out for Hulu’s remake of Curtis Hanson’s famed 1992 domestic thriller “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” which launched tonight, and the verdict isn’t good.
With 26 reviews counted, the film sits at 50% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 54 on Metacritic – decidedly below the 67% on RT and 64/100 on MC of the original film which starred Rebecca De Mornay, Annabella Sciorra, Matt McCoy, Julianne Moore and Ernie Hudson.
The new take sees Maika Monroe take on the mentally unstable nanny role alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the mother and Raúl Castillo as the husband with shooting taking place earlier this year.
Here’s a sampling of reviews:
“Ends up laid low by a climax that peters out by taking itself too seriously, but the film’s totality is still made worthwhile by its central performances” – Siddhant Adlakha, Variety
“The remake features riveting tension, assured performances, and hallmarks of an exciting new director’s narrative fascinations, all while the politics of its central dynamic continue to cry out for examination.” – Natalia Keogan, AV Club
“Although it holds some of the same contrivances as the original, Hulu’s new remake also maintains tension and features a masterful performance, this time by Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the mother.” – Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle
“As deeply unnecessary 90s nostalgia plays go, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is one of the less egregious examples of late, a serviceably entertaining retread that manages to add enough tweaks without losing the basic pleasures of the original.” – Benjamin Lee, The Guardian
“It’s probably better to have a mixed-bag remake with real thought put into it than a superficial thriller retread of tired yuppie phobias. “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” may not rock, but hey, let’s give it a hand anyway.” – William Bibbiani, The Wrap
“Attempts to whip itself into a frenzy in the final act, but it’s a surprisingly small offering of violence in a largely uneventful feature, and one that doesn’t provide much of a jolt 33 years after the Hanson movie won over the masses.” – Brian Orndorf, Blu-ray.com
“Rather than feeling like the kind of culture-shifting moment the original film became, this remake is more of a shrug, destined to be sadly scrolled past by disinterested streaming audiences” – Cody Dericks, Next Best Picture
“It’s clear this cradle has been rocked so hard that subtlety, taste and the potential for good camp have fallen out.” – Chris Azzopardi, New York Times
“The actors are fine, though Monroe has been more effective when subjected to menace rather than doling it out. Winstead does what’s required of her… But this is a remake with few persuasive reasons to exist.” – David Rooney, THR
“A small and plainly shot movie that spends most of its time on Gaslighting 101, sublimates its true premise into the stuff of a late reveal, and whose only sequence of genre-forward suspense is a predictable snooze.” – David Ehrlich, Indiewire
The new “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle” is now up on Hulu.
