The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992)
Directed by Curtis Hanson
Ah the yuppie nightmare, a somewhat newly defined subgenre to horror. 1980s and early 90s rich people that are in peril. Whether it is Fatal Attraction or Pacific Heights, there has been a buttload of these damn things. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a yuppie nightmare that I have seen a few times and was parodied by the Simpsons.
The story revolves around the Bartel family, a upper middle class white family in Seattle, looking for a nanny to help out with their young daughter and newborn son. They find the nanny in Peyton, a young blonde, beautiful woman with a secret motive. You see, Claire Bartel was sexually assaulted by her OBGYN and reported the doctor. A few more women come out and also report the guy, basically the #metoo movement but 1992. The doctor kills himself, and his pregnant wife….Peyton, is refused his assets and life insurance because of the trial and suicide. She has a miscarriage because of the stress and has to have an emergency hysterectomy. Now her dream of being a mother has been robbed of her, and she gets her revenge by trying to destroy Claire’s life. Things get more and more intense, with Peyton basically gas lighting Claire into looking like a jealous psycho. The bearded husband, trying hard to be the dad from Family Ties, of course thinks she’s nuts. It all comes to a head when they fight it out and Peyton shows her true colors.
Sha la la laaaaaaaaa
The acting and tension are where this movie really thrives. Rebecca De Mornay as Peyton is cold, calculating and seductive. Annabella Sciorra as Claire also gets a strong performance as Claire, the mother dealing with a psycho nanny and post pardum. Ernie Hudson plays Soloman, the mentally challenged landscaper/handy man with a golden heart. Matt McCoy is beardo.
There isn’t much in the way of effects, but more unnerving moments. The scene where Peyton breast feeds Claire’s baby is uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as when Peter Griffin does it to Stewie. Rebecca De Mornay is really the highlight of this movie and really comes across insane. Her demise is probably the biggest kill of the movie, where she is shoved out of a window and lands on a picket fence, being impaled.
If you like these types of movies, or are new to yuppie nightmares, this is a good entry. I enjoy Fatal Attraction more than this, but this is a good solid 90s thriller. The acting of De Mornay really sets this apart from the rest. I give this a good B+.
