The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, starring Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the lead, has built up quite a decent bit of buzz leading to its official release on Hulu on October 22. The movie is an adaptation/remake of director Curtis Hanson‘s 1992 hit horror/mystery flick, known by the same name.
The trailer of Hulu’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle depicts a similar portion of horror and thrill as compared to the original film. The movie directed by Michelle Garza Cervera will land straight on digital. However, on subtle observation of the plot and the story’s dynamism of the film, a contrasting similarity to the former hit Apple TV+ series – ‘Servant‘ can be drawn.
‘Servant’ starred Nell Tiger Free in the lead. Her character, as the babysitter named ‘Leanne Grayson’, slowly builds a clashing relationship with the mother (played by Lauren Ambrose) of the baby. The ulterior motives and the game of cat and mouse then begin with the story producing twists and turns. Psychological elements further made the plot engrossing.
The theme of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle stands on par with the TV series Servant
A similar sort of conflicting relationship comes out between Maika Monroe’s character (playing the babysitter) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character (as the mother of the baby) from the trailer of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. However, being a successful TV series, ‘Servant’ had four seasons in running, and later unfolded diverse elements in the story as well.
Hulu’s new film is more of a subtle and direct remake of the original The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. So, the focus might be more on giving viewers more thrills and chills in a crafted space of a run-time. However, the premise, the slow unfolding of the relationship between the two main characters, does appear quite similar.
In that sense, yes, the theme of the movie does fall into the category of M. Night Shyamalan‘s hit series ‘Servant’. Still, there lies a separate battle for Hulu’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. The movie will mostly be judged on the performances of Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Alongside it, how uniquely it adapts the original film could also swing its viewers’ verdict.
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