Hulu has a new remake of the 1992 psychological thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. I do not think that I ever saw the original although the plot is well known enough.

According to IMDB, “An upscale suburban mom brings a new nanny, Polly Murphy, into her home, only to discover she is not the person she claims to be.“

Mary Elizabeth Winstead does a good job as Caitlin Morales, the mother who has had her share of emotional troubles and who brings Polly into the lives of her family. Winstead is easily the best part of the film.

There is not too much more here that is worth the time. Even without seeing the original, I can tell that this is subpar in comparison. There is no way that this movie will be remembered some thirty plus years later.

The writing is low level. The contrivances are scattered throughout the film. The twist at the end was dumb and underdeveloped. The final scenes did not look good at all and took away from the intended power it wanted to have.

The characters were supposed to have lots of back issues, but none of them are developed enough to be anything more than just info that we are told about them. Because of that, I never felt the connection to either character as I was meant to.

I should watch the original some time, but I do think that if you are going to want to watch a film entitled “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle,” I would recommend you choose the original, sight unseen.

2.5 stars