Paul Feig’s adaptation of Freida McFadden’s bestselling novel The Housemaid is a glossy, pulpy psychological thriller that leans into its soapy drama with varying degrees of success. Sydney Sweeney stars as Millie, a young ex-con desperate for a fresh start, who lands a live-in housemaid gig at the opulent home of the wealthy Winchesters—Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and her handsome husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar). What starts as a seemingly perfect opportunity quickly spirals into a web of mood swings, secrets, and escalating tension.
Amanda Seyfried is absolutely fabulous here, delivering a standout performance as the unstable Nina. She commits fully to the character’s wild emotional swings—from charming hostess to plate-smashing maniac—with a vicious, unblinking intensity that borders on horror-movie absurdity. Seyfried owns every scene she’s in, balancing charm, fragility, and outright menace in a way that makes the film compulsively watchable. Sydney Sweeney, on the other hand, essentially plays a version of Sydney Sweeney: the wide-eyed, resilient young woman navigating danger with a mix of vulnerability and determination. She’s solid and brings the necessary relatability to Millie, but it feels like a role we’ve seen her tackle before—serviceable, yet not particularly stretching.
I have to admit, I never say this about thrillers, but the plot was remarkably predictable for me, even without having read the book. From early red flags and heavy foreshadowing, I pretty much knew where things were headed before the big mid-film shift. Many of the twists felt telegraphed, which dulled some of the suspense. That said, the story’s inherent absurdity—extreme character actions, gratuitous steamy moments, and over-the-top confrontations—adds to the campy fun if you lean into it.
Overall, The Housemaid is an enjoyable holiday-season distraction: flawed and foreseeable, but carried by Seyfried’s tour-de-force turn and enough demented energy to make it worth the ride. If the book is similarly absurd, I can see why it became a BookTok sensation.
Screening at Luna Leederville from December 26.
Screening in the Luna Outdoor January 8 & 13.
- Email: neill@outloudculture.com
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