Those who – like me – thought that the 2025 production of ‘The Housemaid‘ directed by Paul Feig is a remake of the 2010 Korean film with the same name (in English distribution) were wrong. The American movie is an adaptation of a 2022 novel by Freida McFadden. The two films belong to the same genre of psychological and erotic thriller mixed with horror and both have as their central characters housemaids who work in the homes of wealthy families. But that’s about where the similarities end. The two films have nothing in common other than their names and the fact that I liked both of them.
In the scene that opens the film, we witness a job interview. Millie, a young woman who seems lacking confidence and somewhat provincial, applies for the job of housemaid in the impressive mansion of Mrs. Nina Winchester. The dialogue between the two women sounds conventional and a little uncomfortable for both of them. Millie will get the job. We will find out that almost everything the two said during the discussion was untrue. Millie is not the innocent spectacled young woman she seems to be, but a former prisoner released on probation and threatened with returning to prison if she does not find work or if she commits the slightest misconduct. Nina takes medication for various mental disorders, terrorizes her employee, lies and has hysterical attacks in which everyone around her suffers, including her ten-year-old daughter. A mysterious and somewhat sinister character, the house gardener, observes everything beyond the windows of the villa. Only the husband, the impressive Andrew Winchester, heir to a considerable fortune and a successful businessman, seems to be a normal person, sometimes even managing to calm his wife. As we progress in the story, however, we will realize that appearances can be bitterly deceiving in this case as well.
I liked the narrative, even if it sometimes included too many ‘slow cinema’ elements. The surprises are a little late to come, but when they show up, their intensity are enough to compensate for the wait. All three main characters are excellently outlined. The changes in perspective and relationships between the two women are excellently captured by Sydney Sweeney (who grows into a star with any new film of her) and Amanda Seyfried (who already is a star). Brandon Sklenar seemed OK to me, but he is overshadowed by the two actresses, who also contributed to the film as executive producers. The sets are very well architectured, with the spiral staircase leading to a room with a triangular section in the attic. The viewers of the film will remember this mansion, which reminded me of the motel in ‘Psycho’, for a long time. I believe that those who chose to watch this horror-thriller for the holidays didn’t make a mistake, and those who haven’t seen the film and love these genres have enough time to catch up in 2026. Plus, a sequel seems not only possible but planned. The novel already has two sequels, so why not the movie?