The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

1992 • 1h 50m •

Drama Thriller

MOVIEVIBE Rating

★ 6.9/10

1,054 reviews

Your Rating

A suburban family chooses seemingly sweet Peyton Flanders as their newborn's nanny. Only much later does the infant's mother, Claire Bartel, realize Peyton's true intentions -- to destroy Claire and replace her in the family. The nail-biting suspense builds quickly in this chilling psychological thriller about deception and bitter revenge.

"Trust is her weapon. Innocence her opportunity. Revenge her only desire."

Top Billed Cast

Annabella Sciorra

Claire Bartel

Rebecca De Mornay

Mrs. Mott / Peyton Flanders

Matt McCoy

Michael Bartel

Ernie Hudson

Solomon

Madeline Zima

Emma Bartel

Julianne Moore

Marlene Craven

John de Lancie

Dr. Victor Mott

Kevin Skousen

Marty Craven

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

W Wuchak Verified TMDB Critic

2019-12-19

***The nanny from hell in the Seattle area***

A well-to-do couple in the Puget Sound region (Matt McCoy & Annabella Sciorra) hires a nanny not knowing that she has axes to grind (Rebecca De Mornay). Ernie Hudson plays a mentally challenged laborer while Julianne Moore is on hand as the wife’s best friend.

"The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" (1992) is a drama/thriller in the mold of contemporaneous flicks like “The Stepfather” (1987) and “The Crush” (1993). The events even take place in the same area as those. While it’s the least of these, it’s not far off in overall qualit...

C CinemaSerf Verified TMDB Critic

2022-09-18

For a while, Rebecca de Mornay is quite menacing as the live-in nanny "Peyton". She is hired by "Claire" (Annabella Sciorra) and her husband "Michael" (Matt McCoy) to look after their baby. Initially all kind and helpful, we soon begin to suspect that she has another agenda - and that she will stop at nothing to attain it! Sadly, after about twenty minutes the story rather settles into a predictable pattern as she gradually manipulates the family, exploits and creates some cracks in the marriage (or tries to, anyway) before a denouement that is really rather weak and takes just a bit to long t...