Synopsis
A suburban family chooses seemingly sweet Peyton Flanders as their newborn's nanny. Only much later does the infant's mother, Claire Bartel, realize Peyton's true intentions -- to destroy Claire and replace her in the family. The nail-biting suspense builds quickly in this chilling psychological thriller about deception and bitter revenge.
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Cast
- Annabella SciorraClaire Bartel
- Rebecca De MornayMrs. Mott / Peyton Flanders
- Matt McCoyMichael Bartel
- Ernie HudsonSolomon
- Madeline ZimaEmma Bartel
- Julianne MooreMarlene Craven
- John de LancieDr. Victor Mott
- Kevin SkousenMarty Craven
- Mitchell LauranceLawyer
- Jane JonesWoman in Park
Recommendations
- 80
Empire
A unexpected pleasure to watch, disturbing for new parents, slightly silly but ever so enjoyable. - 80
Variety
Helmer has obtained taut, impressive performances, notably from cast women. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
This jovially sinister, middle-class morality tale-cum-horror show is predictable, implausible and fiendishly entertaining. - 75
Chicago Tribune
Ynpretentious and efficient, Curtis Hanson`s suspense drama The Hand That Rocks the Cradle suggests, after the monstrous ego trips of this past holiday season, that some sense of professionalism continues to reside in Hollywood. - 70
Los Angeles Times
But the film isn’t just a well-made TV-style thriller either. It’s on to something--the way upwardly mobile parents, hoping to make their lives more professionally fulfilling, unwittingly bring the danger of the unknown into their lives. - 67
Entertainment Weekly
There’s no denying the movie gets a rise out of us, but it does so by mining the fears within our hokiest prejudices. - 60
The Telegraph
De Mornay is oddly compelling as Mott. There’s a gleeful joy in watching her slow, insidious progress, and it’s hard not to secretly root for her character. - 60
Orlando Sentinel
This thriller is so completely worked out that it might have been devised by paranoids. Not even the most demented Kennedy-assassination buff could be more thorough about making sure that everything fits with everything else.
