Michelle Garza Cervera Archives

Review: ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ (2025), starring Maika Monroe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Raúl Castillo, Mileiah Vega and Martin Starr

October 22, 2025

by Carla Hay

Maika Monroe in “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” (Photo by Suzanne Tenner/20th Century Studios/Hulu)

“The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” (2025)

Directed by Michelle Garza Cervera

Some language in Spanish with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Los Angeles, the horror film “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” (a remake of the 1992 movie of the same name) features a predominantly white and Latin cast of characters (with a few Asians) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A mysterious woman becomes the nanny for a married couple with two children under the age of 11, but the nanny has a deadly agenda.

Culture Audience: “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, the 1992 movie “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” and psychological thrillers that are slow-paced and have very little creativity.

Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” (Photo by Suzanne Tenner/20th Century Studios/Hulu)

The 2025 version of “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” is an example of a movie that didn’t need to exist. This dull re-imagining of 1992’s campy “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” is more sluggish than scary. The effect of watching this revamped movie about a killer nanny is like falling asleep in a cradle. A plot twist can’t save this plodding and shallow dud.

Directed by Michelle Garza Cervera and written by Micah Bloomberg, the 2025 version of “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” takes place in Los Angeles, where the movie was filmed on location. The 1992 version of “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” was a crime drama directed by Curtis Hanson, written by Amanda Silver, and had Rebecca De Mornay, Annabella Sciorra and Matt McCoy in the starring roles. The 2025 version of “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” is supposed to be more of a horror movie thriller, but there are very little thrills to be had in this mopey rehash with drab cinematography and a story that takes too long to get to any horror action.

The remake of “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” begins by showing a 7-year-old blonde girl (played by Arabella Olivia Clark) staring at a house that’s directly across from her. The house is engulfed in flames and has no chance of being saved. It’s obvious that this girl will grow up to be one of the movie’s two main female characters, who are both blonde. It’s revealed later in the movie which of these characters is the adult version of the girl seen in the beginning of the movie and why the house was on fire.

The movie then fast-forwards to the present day. A blonde woman named Polly Murphy (played by Maika Monroe), who’s in her late 20s or early 30s, is being interviewed in an office by housing-rights attorney Caitlin Morales (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who is also blonde and is about 10 years older than Polly. Caitlin is also about eight or nine months pregnant at the time of this interview.

Based on the conversation, Caitlin’s law firm is currently doing an “open house” event for potential clients who have legal disputes related to housing. Polly is apparently gearing up for a legal fight with her landlord, who raised the rent to an amount that Polly can no longer afford. Polly recently lost her job as a nanny because the family who hired her has moved away. Polly thinks the rate of the landlord’s rent increase is unfair and illegal.

Polly tells Caitlin that Polly also had to drop out of a school program that trains people on early childhood education because Polly can no longer afford the tuition. Caitlin assures Polly that Caitlin’s law firm does a lot of pro bono (free) work for people who can’t afford the law firm’s services. Polly notices that Caitlin is pregnant (“You look like you’re ready to pop,” Polly says tactlessly) and asks Caitlin to consider hiring Polly as a nanny if Caitlin needs a nanny.

About six or seven months later, Caitlin’s second daughter Josie Morales (played by twins Nora Contreras and Lola Contreras) has been born. Caitlin and her husband Miguel Morales (played by Raúl Castillo) have another daughter: 10-year-old Emma Morales (played by Mileiah Vega), who is prone to having temper tantrums. Emma and Caitlin have not been getting along with each other for an unspecified period of time.

Miguel’s occupation is unclear. The husband’s job is not relevant to the story, compared to how the husband’s job was part of a plot development in the 1992 version of “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.” In both movies, the family lives in an upper-middle-class home. And whatever the household income is, the family can afford to hire a nanny. That’s what happens when Caitlin is at a farmer’s market with her kids, Caitlin sees Polly again, and Caitlin decides to hire Polly as the family’s nanny.

Polly says she’s still looking for a job, so Caitlin takes up Polly’s offer to be the family’s nanny when Caitlin sees how friendly Polly is with Josie and Emma. Polly provides a work reference to Caitlin: a woman named Rosanna (played by Shannon Cochran), who says that she used to employ Polly as a nanny. Caitlin calls Rosanna, who gives a glowing recommendation about Polly. Rosanna describes Polly as “amazing” and says about Polly: “She really became part of our family.”

The next hour of this 104-minute movie then drags with repetition. Polly secretly puts medication in food to make Caitlin, Emma and Josie sick. Caitlin (who cooks the family’s food) feels guilty because she thinks she’s being an irresponsible mother. Meanwhile, Polly earns the trust of Emma, who seems to like Polly a lot more than Emma likes Caitlin. Polly (who describes herself as being orphaned when she was a child) tells Emma that when Polly lived as a ward of the state in her childhood, she was fed only tuna and could only eat it from a tin can.

When Polly can no longer afford her rent, Caitlin invites Polly to live in the family’s guest house. Caitlin eventually gets suspicious of Polly because Polly defies Caitlin’s orders. Miguel thinks that Caitlin is being paranoid. Caitlin had some sort of nervous breakdown after Emma was born, so Miguel thinks Caitlin is experiencing something similar after the recent birth of Josie. These scenarios are presented as mostly monotonous conversations. The movie’s irritating music score by Ariel Marx sounds like it belongs in an industrial nightclub, not a movie that’s supposed to be a suspensful thriller.

Caitlin and Miguel don’t have a lot of close friends. Their closest friends (and the only friends who hang out with Caitlin and Miguel in this story) are a married couple named Stewart (played by Martin Starr) and Bethany (played by Riki Lindhome), who are a little bit snobby and pretentious. Stewart is a doctor and puts his medical knowledge to use later in the film. Miguel’s parents Javí Morales (played by Rafael Sigler) and Marta Morales (played by Elena Campbell-Martinez) are too far away to visit in person, but they are briefly seen in a video chat. Caitlin’s parents are not seen in the movie.

Early on in the movie, Polly mentions that she dates women and is currently “talking” to a woman who might end up being a love interest for Polly. Caitlin then mentions that Caitlin was dating a woman when Caitlin met Miguel. Polly says she’s not surprised because she says Caitlin gives off “that vibe.” Unlike the nanny in 1992 version of “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” the nanny in the 2025 version of the movie doesn’t plan to seduce anyone to break up a marriage—even though the 2025 movie has a few tepid and unconvincing attempts to make it look like there’s sexual tension between Polly and Caitlin.

Later, Polly invites her “friend” Amelia (played by Yvette Lu) over as Polly’s date when the family is having a small dinner party. After the party, Caitlin sees Polly having sex with Amelia in Polly’s bedroom and watches them through a window. Polly notices that Caitlin is watching and somewhat smirks. What does this sex scene have to do with the main story? Absolutely nothing. It’s just an example of how this dreadful movie has time-wasting scenes.

Another queerness scene that has no bearing on the plot is when Emma comes out as a lesbian to her parents while they are having a family dinner. Caitlin gets upset because she thinks Emma is too young to know what Emma’s sexual identity is. That’s about all you’ll learn about Emma, who is very underwritten as a character. Even though Caitlin is queer herself, Caitlin blames Polly for trying to influence Emma into prematurely declaring Emma’s lesbian identity. This movie has a misguided way of trying to make queerness look “provocative,” and queerness is misused as an irrelevant distraction in this movie’s boring plot.

In “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” the nanny has a secret motive for wanting to be the family’s nanny. This version of “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” doesn’t reveal that motive until the last third of the movie. The 1992 version of the movie had a family-employed handyman named Solomon (played by Ernie Hudson), who figures out before the family does that the nanny is devious. There is no handyman character in the 2025 version of the movie, but it’s not really spoiler information to say that Stewart has the role of the person who is the first one to find out some damning information about the nanny.

The movie’s screenplay is so lackluster, most of the cast members of 2025’s “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” just seem like they’re sleepwalking through their roles. Monroe has a vacant stare for most of her performance and acts more like someone who’s spaced out on painkillers instead of someone who should be laser-focused on causing havoc through a revenge scheme. Worst of all: These characters are so underdeveloped, by the time the mayhem starts and concludes in a very stereotypical way, most viewers won’t really care about seeing these characters again after the movie ends.

Hulu premiered “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” on October 22, 2025.

Review: ‘Huesera: The Bone Woman,’ starring Natalia Solián, Alfonso Dosal, Mayra Batalla and Mercedes Hernández

March 17, 2023

by Carla Hay

“Huesera: The Bone Woman”

Directed by Michelle Garza Cervera

Spanish with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Mexico, the horror film “Huesera: The Bone Woman” features a Latino cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A woman’s pregnancy and her sanity are threatened when she keeps having nightmarish visions of her bones breaking and women who can contort their limbs and seem to be agents of death.

Culture Audience: “Huesera: The Bone Woman” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in seeing bizarre horror movies with intriguing stories and striking visuals.

“Huesera: The Bone Woman” delivers plenty of creepy images and convincing acting performances. Just don’t expect a clear and complete explanation for all of the disturbing incidents in this effective horror movie. The movie’s sound effects are just as terrifying as the visuals.

“Huesera: The Bone Woman” is the feature-film debut of director Michelle Garza Cervera, who co-wrote the movie’s screenplay with Abia Castillo. The movie had its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, where Garza Cervera won the awards for Best New Narrative Director and the Nora Ephron Prize, an award given to emerging female filmmakers. Garza Cervera is certainly a talent to watch, since “Huesera: The Bone Woman” is the type of movie that will immediately hook viewers into the story and won’t let go.

The beginning of “Huesera: The Bone Woman” (which takes place in an unnamed city in Mexico) has a stunning visual of people gathered at the feet of La Virgen de Guadalupe (a giant gold statue of the Virgin Mary), somewhere in wooded area in Mexico. This statue (which is about 100 feet tall) doesn’t exist in real life, but it was created through visual effects for the movie. Religion and motherhood are major themes throughout “Huesera: The Bone Woman.”

The movie’s protagonist is a woman in her 30s named Valeria Hernandez (played by Natalia Solián), who has been married to her mild-mannered husband Raúl (played by Alfonso Dosal) for an untold number of years. Valeria (who makes furniture in her home shop) and Raúl (who works in advertising) seem to be happily married. But soon, viewers find out that the only strain in their marriage is that Valeria and Raúl have been trying unsuccessfully for a long time to have a child.

That disappointment is about to change when Valeria visits her gynecologist (played by Emilram Cossío) for a medical exam because she’s fairly certain that she’s pregnant. The doctor confirms that she’s three months pregnant. Valeria and Raúl are ecstatic about this happy news and start making plans for their first child. Valeria wants to make a crib for the baby, even though her doctor advises her to temporarily stop doing any furniture-making work while she’s pregnant.

Not everyone is thrilled about Valeria’s pregnancy. One day, Valeria and Raúl go to visit Valeria’s parents Luis (played by Enoc Leaño) and Maricarmen (played by Aida López), who are excited to hear that Valeria is going to become a parent. However, Valeria’s older sister Vero (played by Sonia Couoh), a single mother who lives in her parents’ household with Vero’s two kids, is skeptical that Valeria will be a good mother. Also in the household is Maricarmen’s sister Isabel (played by Mercedes Hernández), who has never been married and has no children.

Vero makes snide and sarcastic comments every time Valeria talks about the pregnancy, such as saying that she thought Valeria would never get pregnant because Valeria was getting to be “too old” to conceive a child. Vero also says that she wouldn’t trust Valeria to babysit or be alone with Vero’s two children: Jorge (played by Luciano Martí), who’s about 10 or 11 years old and Paola (played by Camila Leoneé), who’s about 9 or 10 years old. Why is so Vero so uptight and hostile about Valeria being around children?

When the family is gathered for a meal at the dining room table, Vero tells Raúl why she thinks Valeria won’t have good parenting skills: When Valeria was younger (perhaps when she was an adolescent), she was asked to babysit an infant, but Valeria dropped the child on the ground. An embarrassed Valeria tells Raúl that the baby wasn’t injured, but viewers later find out that it’s a lie.

After this uncomfortable family gathering, Raúl and Valeria are driving back to their home when a woman stops the car to talk to them. Her name is Octavia (played by Mayra Batalla), who was close to Valeria when they were in high school together. Octavia and Valeria haven’t seen or spoken to each other in years. They make small talk, as Valeria introduces Raúl to Valeria.

Octavia looks at Raúl suspiciously and immediately gives off “jealous ex-girlfriend” vibes. And sure enough, later in the movie, it’s revealed that Valeria and Octavia were lovers when they were teenagers. Raúl doesn’t know, and neither does Valeria’s family. It’s implied that Valeria has been keeping her queer identity a secret from most people in her life.

Flashbacks in the movie show that teenage Valeria (played by Gabriela Velarde) and teenage Octavia (played by Isabel Luna) were both in a rebelllious, hard-partying clique that included other queer people. Valeria and Octavia even made plans to move away together after they graduated from high school. However, Valeria changed her mind, and that’s what ended her relationship with Octavia, who seems to still be heartbroken and bitter over this breakup. Valeria later finds out that Octavia, who still has a hard-partying lifestyle, lives by herself and is not dating anyone special.

Because “Huesera: The Bone Woman” is a horror movie, it doesn’t take long for some frightening things to happen. Valeria begins to imagine that bones in parts of her body (such as a foot) suddenly break. She also sees faceless women who contort their bodies in grotesque ways and seem to be coming after Valeria to attack her or do something violent.

There’s a scene where Valeria is looking at the apartment building that’s directly across from the apartment building where Valeria and Raúl live. Valeria is horrified to see a faceless young woman contort her body, climb on the balcony, and jump to her death. Valeria even sees the bloodied and mangled corpse on the ground. But when Valeria rushes to tell Raúl about what she saw, and they both go to investigate, there’s nothing there.

“Huesera: The Bone Woman” can get a little repetitive with the over-used horror narrative of a woman seeing terrifying visions that no one else can see, and then people start to think that she’s mentally ill. However, many of the images in “Huesera: The Bone Woman” are truly unique, particularly in the movie’s last 15 minutes. Fire and water are both used effectively in some of the film’s best scenes, by tapping into fears of drowning or burning to death.

And get used to the sound of bones being contorted or fractured. Not only does Valeria have a habit of cracking her knuckles, the visions that haunt her almost always include the sounds of bones breaking. It might be too nauseating for some viewers, but the movie’s sound design and sound mixing are top-notch for achieving the intended horror. The cinematography by Nur Rubio Sherwell is also noteworthy for how it creates a foreboding atmosphere, amid what is supposed to be domestic bliss for a new mother.

“Huesera: The Bone Woman” blurs the lines between what is religion and what is pagan witchcraft. More than once, Valeria visits a spiritualist named Ursula (played by Martha Claudia Moreno) for guidance and some rituals. Valeria’s Aunt Isabel, who is treated like a weirdo in the family, because Isabel never got married and has no children, becomes more important to troubled Valeria, as Valeria starts to question her own life choices.

All of the cast members play their parts well, but “Huesera: The Bone Woman” would not be as memorable without the stellar lead performance of Solián. Even when the story gets a little muddled, and viewers will begin to wonder why it’s taking so long to explain why Valeria is experiencing all this terror, Solián maintains an authenticity to her character throughout the movie. Valeria is not a typical “damsel in nightmarish distress” from horror movies, which often care more about the murdered body count than the interior lives of the protagonists.

Is there a bone woman named Huesera in the movie? In real life, there is a fairly obscure Mexican folk tale about an elderly woman named Huesera, who collected bones and brought these bones back to life, but don’t expect that to be part of the movie’s story. “Huesera: The Bone Woman” could have done the most obvious thing and made the movie into a ghost story, with Huesera haunting Valeria. However, by the end of the film, viewers can understand the intended message: Sometimes, what can haunt people the most is when they try to hide from their true selves.

XYZ Films released “Huesera: The Bone Woman” in select U.S. cinemas on February 10, 2023. Shudder premiered the movie on February 16, 2023. “Huesera: The Bone Woman” was released on digital and VOD on February 17, 2023.