I picked up a copy of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle several months ago and today I break the plastic on it. I loved this movie as a kid. I recorded it off the TV onto a VHS so I could watch it over and over. Somehow it slipped away from me, but tonight I’m bringing it back.
During a visit to the OB/GYN, Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra) is sexually abused by the doctor who is obviously getting a little too much out of their visit. When he is reported, the doctor commits suicide and his pregnant widow (Rebecca De Mornay) loses her child out of grief.
Six months later, now assuming the name Peyton, the widow takes a job as the Bartel’s nanny to take her revenge on the family, whom she blames for the loss of her husband and child. She intends to take these things from Claire and claim them for her own.
My favorite person in the movie is Solomon, played by Ernie Hudson. He is a special needs man who has been hired by the Bartel’s to build a fence. They continue to keep him on for help around the house as he becomes a friend of the family. He instantly knows there is something wrong with Peyton and he ultimately protects them from her in the end.
The most awkward part for me is that the daughter Emma (Madeline Zima) was in Californiacation topless.
Seeing a girl at age seven and then nude as an adult is just weird.
On the other side of the coin, the best part in the whole movie is Julianne Moore’s character being killed by the destruction of the green house. While her character is smart enough to realize that Peyton is a fake, watching that glass come flying down on her is just hilarious.
I had forgotten how creepy this movie really was. De Mornay is fantastic as a psycho. She seems like an unlikely killer being that she’s gorgeous and soft looking but that makes her scarier as a killer. She is the neighbor you would trust with your kids, not someone you would expect to try and destroy you. As a stalker, she ranks up at the top.
For a good creep out this month, pop in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Even if it doesn’t scare you, there are beautiful ladies and fun deaths and who doesn’t like that?
