‘Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ Remake Wasn’t Really Inspired by the Original

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Thriller fans recently got a new take on a classic ’90s movie with the Hulu remake of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. The new version updates the 1992 psychological thriller, which originally shocked audiences with its twist on the “dangerous babysitter” story. While the 2025 film follows a similar setup – Maika Monroe plays Polly, a babysitter with hidden intentions who arrives at the home of Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Caitlyn – the cast and director, Michelle Garza Cervera, intentionally made it very different from the original.

I recently chatted with Cervera, Monroe, and Winstead about their new film, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, which landed on Hulu on October 22nd. It centers around Caitlyn Morales, a wife and mother who thinks she’s getting a little help when she hires a babysitter named Polly. But things quickly take a turn, because it becomes clear Polly isn’t who she seems, and she definitely has a hidden, and not-so-nice, plan going on.

The new film, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, is based on a script by Amanda Silver originally made into a 1992 movie directed by Curtis Hanson. That film starred Rebecca De Mornay as Peyton, a nanny with a secret, who arrives to care for the Bartel family’s children. While the new version shares a similar setup, the villain’s reasons for their actions are quite different. Director Cervera has seen the original film, but decided to create her own unique take on the story after watching only part of it.

When I first learned about the project, I rewatched the original to get a sense of the material. But as soon as I started working on it, I stopped watching and asked the entire crew to do the same. I didn’t want us to get caught up in comparing our film to it.

It’s tough to be creative when you’re constantly comparing your work to something else. It’s not good for the process, and it doesn’t show respect for your team or how you work. You really need to focus on your own ideas, characters, and story. We actually lost sight of that for a moment, and forgot we were making a remake.

Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead Collide as Polly and Caitlyn in ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’


Hulu

Maika Monroe plays Polly, a babysitter who seems ideal at first, but quickly throws the Morales family into a whirlwind of suspicion and violence due to a hidden event we won’t reveal. Monroe, who also starred in It Follows, believes her portrayal of the character is significantly different from the original 1992 film.

I’d seen the movie before, but I didn’t watch it again once I knew I’d be involved in this new version. It honestly feels like a completely different film. While it still shares the basic premise of a nanny causing trouble in a house, everything else feels totally reimagined to me.

Winstead, who portrays Caitlyn – the mother and wife who recognizes Polly’s true nature – explains she had a similar reaction when watching the new film compared to the original.

I hadn’t actually seen the original movie, but I knew it existed and what kind of feeling it gave people. It’s pretty famous, so most people have at least heard of it. After reading the script for the remake and really liking it, I looked up the original and realized they were quite different, even just from reading summaries.

It doesn’t really feel like they inhabit the same reality, even if the main storyline is present, as you mentioned.

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2025-10-27 18:37