From the jump, this film feels polished but after watching it, I had mixed feelings so I looked it up and noticed it’s a remake of a 1992 film with the same title but some inferred that this one is a complete wash down of the original. I haven’t seen the 1992 film yet but I can guess the 2025 remake is a polished version of it considering the time difference, the spotless suburban setting, and eerily soft lighting. Another thing is that there’s this constant undercurrent of “something is very wrong” glorified by the soundtrack anyway. But I tell ya, even with all the style, I found myself more angry than scared through its runtime.
One thing that gets me appalled is that the husband-never-believes-the-wife trope is always alive and kicking in horror films. Caitlyn (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) tells Miguel (Raúl Castillo) she thinks their nanny, Polly (Maika Monroe), is dangerous but he just writes it off. He’s like, “She’s overthinking” or “Maybe you need to rest,” until things go full-on chaotic. Every time I see that play out, I lose my freaking mind. Why does it always have to take a crisis before the husband listens? Like am I supposed to believe that’s just how it works in real life? I know some people can be a real pain in the ssa but come on. Sometimes, a woman doesn’t want her worries dismissed. She wants you to believe her, like right away.
Second, the movie leaves way too much on the table. Caitlyn (whose real name in the film turns out to be Jennifer) and Polly (whose real name is Rebecca) have this messy, horrifying shared past, but the film only teases part of it. Toward the ending, Caitlyn mentions that Polly’s father did bad things to her, she also mentions that Polly was also his victim and I was so curious about what exactly happened. Like, was it abuse? Was it something even more twisted? The movie hints at it, but doesn’t fully spell it out, and that had me frustrated. Maybe I should really see that original because if one is to ever remake a thriller, they should know better to not skim the surface. It’s only wise to go deep.
That said, performance wise, Winstead is solid. She brings this real vulnerability, the kind of worn-down mom who’s trying to balance a successful career and a family, and then suddenly has to deal with someone dangerous in her home. You actually feel her fear.
Polly/Rebecca on the other hand is played with tension by Monroe. She’s quiet, unsettling, and you can sense her anger and darkness simmering just below the surface. Her calmness actually makes her threat so creepy.
I also love the modern themes as it leans into class tension, emotional manipulation, and power. There’s also some nod to mental health where Polly messes with Caitlyn’s medication, destabilizing her, which reflects modern fears about trust, home and what it means to truly know someone.
I will give it to the director, Michelle Garza Cervera, for successfully creating a lovely atmosphere which helps build the suspense slowly. But, and this is a very big BUT, the tension is uneven. Once things start unraveling, some threats feel muted, and others feel exaggerated. There are moments where I suppose they expect the audience to be terrified but I am the audience and I’d say it was more like a prestige drama than a full-blown psychological nightmare.
So yeah, I enjoyed parts. But I also spent a lot of the movie rolling my eyes at how things played out. For a story that’s supposed to be about sinister betrayal and emotional manipulation, it sometimes feels like it’s tiptoeing around its own darkness.
Rating: 5.8 / 10
It’s not a total disaster, but it’s far from the chilling, deeply unsettling thriller it tries to be.