The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992)
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Reviews Counted: 34
Fresh: 20 | Rotten: 14
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 4.9/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 4
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 46,519
My Rating
Movie Info
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is director Curtis Hanson's suburban horror story of a demented nanny bent on revenge for past wrongs. Peyton (Rebecca De Mornay) was once a happily married woman, but when her doctor husband is accused of assaulting a patient and he commits suicide, her world falls apart and she plots revenge. Claire (Annabella Sciorra), the woman who made the accusation, hires Peyton as a nanny, not knowing of their past involvement. Peyton then proceeds to terrorize the family,
Jan 10, 1992 Wide
Aug 28, 2001
Disney
Cast
-
Annabella Sciorra
Claire Bartel -
Rebecca De Mornay
Peyton Flanders -
Matt McCoy
Michael Bartel -
Ernie Hudson
Solomon -
Julianne Moore
Marlene -
Madeline Zima
Emma Bartel -
John DeLancie
Dr. Mott -
Kevin Skousen
Marty -
Susan Chin
Newscaster -
Julie Clemmons
Female Lab Worker -
Jeff Conkel
Paramedic -
Laura Ferri
Emergency Room Nurse -
Brian Finney
Botanical Gardens Worke... -
Tom Francis
Marlene's Assistant -
Kimberly Hill
Newscaster -
Todd Jamieson
Surgeon -
Jane Jones
Woman in Park -
Aimee Kanemori
Child in Schoolyard -
Mitchell Laurence
Lawyer -
Penny LeGate
"Seattle Today" Host -
Cliff Lenz
"Seattle Today" Host -
Charles Lucia
Realtor -
Ericka Matson
Child in Schoolyard -
Cristine McMurdo-Wallis
Peyton's Nurse -
Ashley Melander
Baby Joe -
Eric Melander
Baby Joe -
Jennifer Melander
Baby Joe -
Elaine Micklesen
Child in Schoolyard -
Mary Anne Owen
Dr. Mott's Nurse -
Patrick Ryals
Policeman -
David Scully
Male Lab Worker -
Sara Jennifer Sharp
Peyton's Nurse -
Therese Xavier Tinling
Receptionist -
Dee Dee Van Zyl
Emergency Room Nurse -
Stephen West
Federal Express Clerk -
Justin Zaremby
Schoolyard Bully -
-
Joseph Franklin
Man at Cleaners -
Robert James
Child in Schoolyard
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All Critics (35) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (14) | DVD (1)
A low-key thriller that will make baby boomers double-check the references of any prospective nanny.
Curtis Hanson's direction and Amanda Silver's screenplay are both models of no-flab craft and intelligence, and all the actors (who also include Ernie Hudson and Julianne Moore) are believable from the first frame to the last.
As the film progresses, malicious schemes and loony excesses are combined, with Hanson's self-conscious direction rendering one particularly sensational murder even more implausible.
Top CriticHanson creates the occasionally effective shock effect to satisfy those who want to squeal in mock fright. More often the devices he uses are such tired tricks... to create the illusion of suspense that can't be sustained.
Cradle is the kind of cheap thrill you hate yourself for responding to. But director Curtis Hanson and a terrific cast provide enough scary fun to make Cradle the first fright-night hit of '92.
This anti-feminist parable is both a labor and a pain.
Five years before adapting and directing the modern masterpiece L.A. Confidential, Curtis Hanson helmed this sizable box office hit that, like 1987's Fatal Attraction, used home invasion as a crafty commercial hook.
De Mornay seems to have found her true vocation playing the nanny from hell, but while the ensuing thrills may well be enjoyed by many, anyone with offspring of their own would be wise to stay away.
This jovially sinister, middle-class morality tale-cum-horror show is predictable, implausible and fiendishly entertaining.
Scary premise of mad sitter vs mother and child...effective.
Touted as Fatal Attraction for the 1990s, this well-directed thrille (by Curtis Hanson) also features a blonde sociopath, except that the terror in of the family in this yarn is from within.
Great suspense thriller.
Lots of Fun, Lots of thrills
Audience Reviews for The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
-
- Marlene: Poison!
- Peyton Flanders: Excuse me?!
-
- Marlene: If don't like this movie,then you don't enjoy good suspenseful movies. A lot of movies put you to sleep, not this one, entertaining.
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
November 30, 2007:
Samuel L. Jackson Rocks the CradleOnce you've co-starred in an action "comedy" with Eugene Levy, the only way to go is up -- or so...
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