‘The Housemaid’ review: Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney play dirty in schlocky adaptation

Director: Paul Feig. US. 2025. 131mins

Based mostly on the best-selling 2022 novel by Freida McFadden, The Housemaid leans full-tilt into the campy twists and turns that made the e-book such a social media sensation. Stars Amanda Seyfried and Amanda Seyfried maintain nothing again as, respectively, a rich housewife and her new live-in employed assist – each of whom are conserving harmful secrets and techniques. As was the case with the supply materials, nonetheless, glamorous visuals and a kitschy vibe aren’t sufficient to paper over a threadbare plot, thinly drawn characters, apparent dramatic beats and an ill-advised central conceit.

Might be described as a trustworthy adaptation of a problematic e-book

Director Paul Feig has helmed a number of movies concerning the interactions between ladies; one of the best, like Bridesmaids (2011) and Ghostbusters (2016), riff on genuine bonds between feminine pals with grace and humour. However very similar to A Easy Favor (which grossed $98m on its launch in 2018) and its sequel (which went on to streaming earlier this yr),The Housemaid, which opens within the US on December 19 earlier than rolling out globally, as an alternative trades on the jealousy, insecurity and vengeance of wronged ladies, pitting them in opposition to one another. That seemingly received’t cease audiences from being tempted by the eye-catching forged, and the e-book’s military of social media followers will certainly be out in power – this can be a movie that can be powered by influencer phrase of mouth.

Sweeney is Millie, a down-on-her-luck ex-con who’s discovering it tough to regulate to life after being launched from jail for a criminal offense that’s revealed in flashback across the halfway level. On probation, and determined to discover a job and a spot to reside, she thinks her luck is in when she lands a place because the live-in housemaid for the rich Winchester household on Lengthy Island, New York; Nina (Seyfried), her good-looking, too-good-to-be-true husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) and their younger daughter Cece (a scene-stealing Indiana Elle).

Even these unfamiliar with the novel can be instantly conscious that one thing is amiss on this palatial pad. Cinematographer John Schwartzman’s digital camera virtually stalks by the rooms, whereas Theodore Shapiro’s overwrought rating shrieks hazard from the off. In these early scenes, Seyfried performs Nina like an ideal, buttoned-up princess – however there’s one thing else lurking behind that smile. We additionally know, due to Sweeney’s voice-over, that Millie is hiding her personal secrets and techniques, which signifies that the place, and everybody in it, is festooned with purple flags.

The viewers is meant to grasp this, in fact; certainly, the entire story hangs limply on spoilers which it could be unfair to disclose. But Rebecca Sonnenshine’s screenplay leaves completely no room for nuance or subtlety within the set-up, which lasts for nearly half of the movie’s bloated operating time, nor in the rest that occurs on display. As Millie strikes into the Winchesters’ attic, cleans the home and prowls round in varied skimpy outfits, Nina grows more and more unhinged, and the entire thing descends into an unintentional parody of shiny, male-gazey late 80s/early 90s home thrillers.

There might be some responsible pleasure to be present in watching Seyfried and Sweeney go head-to-head if the entire thing wasn’t so ludicrous. The plot holes, logic leaps, and narrative laziness that don’t appear to hamper a Booktok sensation are amplified on the large display, and plenty of audiences will discover it unattainable to see previous them. Savvy viewers will even see the supposed twist coming from a mile away, a revelation that fuels a climactic, more and more hysterical last third meant to drag the whole lot collectively and shockingly redraw occasions.

All through the movie, Feig and Sonnenshine largely keep trustworthy to the e-book – other than glamming up (and slimming down) the character of Nina, rising the position of Andrew’s overbearing mom (an austere Elizabeth Perkins) and tweaking some key occasions so that they turn into much more luridly exploitative. But they baulk at McFadden’s authentic ending; dampen it down, neaten it up. Nonetheless, the denouement stays so apparent, so disagreeable, that it doesn’t enhance or excuse something that has come earlier than.

The Housemaid might be described as a trustworthy adaptation of a problematic e-book, foregrounding the simply digestible, style-over-substance shlock that made the e-book such a viral hit. Essentially, nonetheless, it stays massively questionable as as to whether this sort of story ought to ever be instructed in this sort of method. And whereas the filmmakers are clearly aiming for some type of feminine revenge catharsis – or justification – the result’s a uninteresting, distasteful function that feels outdated and completely out of contact.