The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992 film)

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a 1992 American thriller film directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Amanda Silver. The film stars Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Ernie Hudson, Julianne Moore and Madeline Zima. The plot follows the pregnant wife of a Seattle obstetrician who dies by suicide after he is accused of sexual misconduct by some of his patients. The shock leads the wife to miscarry, after which she poses as a nanny for one of her late husband's accusers and slowly begins to infiltrate the family. The film's title is taken from the 1865 poem by William Ross Wallace and there are several nods to the 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was theatrically released in the United States on January 10, 1992, by Hollywood Pictures. The film was a box office success, grossing approximately US$140 million worldwide against a budget of $11.9 million, subsequently becoming one of the year's most profitable films. In the home video market, it became the top rental in July 1992, and was the seventh-most rented film of 1992 in the United States. In 1993, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was remade into a Bollywood film, titled Khal-Naaikaa.
In Seattle, housewife Claire Bartel is happily married and pregnant with her second child. At a routine check-up, she is sexually molested by her new obstetrician, Dr. Victor Mott. Traumatized, she tells her husband Michael, who encourages her to report Dr. Mott to the state medical board. Her accusation prompts four more women to come forward about Dr. Mott assaulting them, and multiple charges are prepared against him. Dr. Mott commits suicide to avoid being arrested. Lawyers tell Dr. Mott's pregnant widow that her husband's assets have been frozen because of the lawsuits. They also reveal that he voided his life insurance contract through his suicide, and she will lose her luxurious home. Overcome with stress, Mrs. Mott goes into pre-term labor, loses her baby, and undergoes an emergency hysterectomy. While recovering, she sees a news story identifying Claire as the first woman who came forward with the allegations against her husband.
Six months later, Claire has given birth to a boy, Joey, and is in the midst of building her own personal greenhouse. She and Michael have also hired an intellectually disabled handyman named Solomon to help with repairs and improvements around their home; Solomon also bonds with their young daughter Emma. Looking for a nanny to provide her with free time to work on her greenhouse, Claire hires Peyton Flanders for the job. Unbeknownst to the Bartels, Peyton is really Mrs. Mott, who uses her new job to undermine Claire in her household. She is out for revenge against Claire for reporting her husband in spite of his behavior, as her husband was her only chance to have children. She frequently breastfeeds Joey in secret; this causes him to stop taking Claire's milk. Mrs. Mott tries to turn Claire's daughter Emma against her and secretly destroys Michael's office proposal. One day, Solomon discovers Mrs. Mott breastfeeding Joey. To prevent him from exposing her, Mrs. Mott suggests to Claire that Solomon might be molesting Emma. Mrs. Mott plants a pair of Emma's underwear in Solomon's toolbox, leading Claire to fire him, to Emma's disappointment and causing her to distance herself from her mother as Mrs. Mott had planned. Unbeknownst to the family except for Emma, Solomon keeps a watchful eye over the Bartels.
Knowing that Claire's close friend Marlene had been Michael's ex-girlfriend before he married Claire, Mrs. Mott suggests to Michael that he arrange a surprise birthday party for Claire, leading Marlene and Michael to meet in secret. Claire vocally accuses Michael of having an affair with Marlene, only to find the party-goers, including a hurt and humiliated Marlene, waiting in the next room.
A now wary Claire begins to suspect "Peyton's" hand in all of these incidents and suggests to Michael that they should take a family vacation without "Peyton". Mrs. Mott overhears this and boobytraps the greenhouse for Claire. Claire doesn't go into the greenhouse immediately, but goes into town to pick up some seedlings first. Marlene, who is a real estate agent, discovers Mrs. Mott's identity after the Mott's home is listed for sale. When she confronts "Peyton" about her real identity and asks for Claire, Mrs. Mott tricks her into going into the greenhouse, where she springs the boobytrap and is killed by the falling glass ceiling. Knowing that Claire suffers from asthma, Mrs. Mott empties all of her inhalers. When Claire returns and finds Marlene's bloodied body, she has an asthma attack and is briefly hospitalized. Michael is left distraught over Marlene's death and his wife's condition; Mrs. Mott attempts to seduce him, but he rejects her. When Claire returns from the hospital, she visits Marlene's office and finally uncovers the truth about Mrs. Mott after visiting the Motts' house and meeting the real estate agent. She returns home and punches Mrs. Mott in the face while revealing the truth to Michael. They fire "Peyton" and order her to leave immediately without packing her belongings, and Michael tells Claire to get the kids so they can head to a hotel for safety.
Mrs. Mott breaks into the house and hits Michael with a shovel in the basement, knocking him down the stairs and breaking his legs. She then attempts to fulfill her true goal: taking the kids for herself. However, after seeing Mrs. Mott assault Claire, Emma outsmarts Mrs. Mott and locks her in the nursery, declaring that Mrs. Mott will never be her mother. Mrs. Mott escapes and finds Solomon in the attic, aiding the kids' escape. She attempts to kill Claire, but stops after Claire appears to be having another asthma attack, prompting Mrs. Mott to mock her. As she tries to take Joey, Claire gets up, having faked her asthma attack, and viciously attacks a stunned Mrs. Mott, and Solomon distracts her long enough for Claire to push her out of the window, fatally impaling her on the picket fence. Touched at how Solomon risked his life to protect her family, Claire welcomes him back, and they all leave the attic to help Michael as the police and paramedics arrive.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle originated as Amanda Silver's film school thesis.
In August 1990, it was reported Interscope Communications was preparing the film for Hollywood Pictures. By October 1990 Curtis Hanson was on board to direct. Filming began on April 15, 1991, after being rescheduled from February 22. The film shoot was delayed due to the casting of the female leads. The setting and location was originally meant to be in Atlanta, Georgia, but was filmed in Tacoma and Seattle in Washington.
Filming locations were Issaquah, Washington; Seattle, Washington (Mott's residence at 2502 37th Ave W in Seattle); and the Bartels' residence at 808 N. Yakima Ave. Tacoma, Washington.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle opened on January 10, 1992, and grossed $7.7 million in its opening weekend, bringing Hook down to #2 at the US box office from its four-week stay at #1. The film lasted at #1 for four consecutive weeks, then was upended by Medicine Man, which was also released by Hollywood Pictures. By the end of its run, the film earned a total of $88 million in the United States and Canada and $52 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $140 million.
On Rotten Tomatoes The Hand That Rocks the Cradle has an approval rating of 66% based on 53 reviews. The consensus summarizes: "Thanks largely to Rebecca De Mornay's delightfully villainous turn in the central role, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is an entertaining -- albeit rather silly -- domestic thriller." On Metacritic the film has a score of 64% based on reviews from 26 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Gene Siskel stated that he "had trouble accepting the premise of this picture because of the casual way in which the nanny is hired in an early scene by the mother," citing that the premise is unrealistic. However, he gave praise to Julianne Moore's character, saying, "much more believable, is the supporting character of the mother's best friend" and that "the friend is a terrific character, it's too bad she doesn't have more scenes in the picture." He mentioned that his "biggest objection to The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is to its scenes with the children in jeopardy or psychic pain." Siskel finally remarked that "there are some fun thrills in The Hand that Rocks the Cradle to be sure, but I found a lot of it distasteful, too." Roger Ebert had a higher opinion of the film, stating that he "found this film worked" and that "It touches on a fear and that's why it appeals to us." Ebert praised De Mornay's performance in the film, saying, "she does, I think, a very good job, a very, very sound job of being the villainess in this film and I think it's an effective performance" and that he found the scenes of the children "very interesting because I saw them as a portrait of the evil of that woman."
Vincent Canby of The New York Times said of the film that "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is meant to scare audiences more or less in the way that the patrons of the early nickelodeons were frightened when they saw the image of a train rushing at them. Audiences aren't asked to think, only to react" and that "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle proves again that not thinking isn't especially easy even today. Though Mr. Hanson is a slick movie maker, he is not an especially persuasive one here. Don't be gulled by those who would compare The Hand That Rocks the Cradle to Fatal Attraction, which features three strong characters who, in one way or another, are ready to answer for their actions." He added that "Mr. Hanson 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 as the crosscutting between two sets of simultaneous, often innocent, actions to create the illusion of suspense that can't be sustained." Rebecca Hawkes of Telegraph gave the film a rating a 3 stars out of 5 and said that "It’s a tense, viscerally unsettling moment, that helps make the film into something more than just a fun, formulaic thriller", while Sue Heal of The Radio Times rated the film 4 stars out of 5, stating that "This is pure unbridled hokum, of course, but extremely effective until the last 30 minutes, when the plot rapidly self-destructs."
Washington Post reviewer Rita Kempley criticized the movie, arguing that it is anti-feminist.
In 2006, the film was included in Bravo's special 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments, placing at #24.
At the 19th Saturn Awards it was nominated for Best Horror Film, Best Actress (Rebecca De Mornay), and Best Supporting Actress (Julianne Moore). At the 1992 MTV Movie Awards Rebecca De Mornay's performance won the award for Best Villain and was nominated for Best Female Performance.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was released on VHS on July 8, 1992, on DVD on December 8, 1998, with the original theatrical trailer as the sole special feature. On September 4, 2012 Disney/Buena Vista released the film on Blu-ray disc with the same theatrical trailer as the previous releases. The film was presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio, approximately 1.85:1.
The film was remade as Khal-Naaikaa, an Indian film which was released on 6 August 1993.
In 2014, it was announced Supernatural writer Daniel Loflin was set to executive produce and write an adaptation for the film alongside Ted Field, a producer on the original film. The remake was reportedly in development at ABC Family, but it did not move forward.
On September 26, 2024, it was announced that a new remake of the 1992 movie would be in the works at Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures under 20th Century Studios, starring Maika Monroe with Michelle Garza Cervera directing and Micah Bloomberg writing the script. on October 11, 2024, Mary Elizabeth Winstead was cast in the film.