Film Review - The Housemaid
Images courtesy of StudioCanal.
Based on Freida McFadden’s 2023 International Thriller Writers Award-winning novel of the same name, The Housemaid is a psychological thriller that slashed through the Australian big screen this Boxing Day.
Paul Feig, who was at the helm of many much-loved female comedies -Bridesmaids (2011), The Heat (2011), and Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), - takes another stab at directing women who disturb each other rather than make each other laugh. After the lukewarm reception of Another Simple Favour (2025) and its predecessor, this is a step in the right direction.
The story is set out from the get-go as the “there’s something not quite right about this family” subgenre of spooky. Amanda Seyfried’s Nina (Les Miserables, Mamma Mia!), an upper-class PTA mum, hires Sydney Sweeney’s Millie (American Eagle jeans ad) as a live-in housekeeper and nanny. Naturally, both are keeping secrets. But I was pleasantly surprised by what they were.
Nina’s husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar: Drop, Vice), is there and pivotal to the plot, but it’s the leading ladies who shine brightest. When he eventually cheats with the nanny— come on, we all saw that coming— the explicit sex scenes go for way too long. There was a collective groan in the cinema as they went at it again. The guy next to me turned to his girlfriend and said, “Seriously?”.
Feig’s pacing picks up in the second half, and I appreciate the minimal use of jump scares. The gore is graphic. Domestic violence and self-harm are depicted on screen. Viewer discretion is advised.
As a millennial-Gen Z cusp, I am the target audience for this film’s appeal to nostalgia. Amanda Seyfried will always remind us of Mean Girls. The soundtrack heralded the unapologetic voices of Kelly Clarkson and reputation-era Taylor Swift. I liked it more than I thought I would.
For every expected plot twist, there was also a well-thought-out Easter egg. This may be one of the rare times that changing the ending from the book was an improvement.
My expectations were on the ground, and now they’ve got a bit of altitude.
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The Housemaid is screening in cinemas now. For tickets and more info, click here.