Given the current run Sydney Sweeney is on, you'd be forgiven if you don't expect much out of her new R-rated psychological thriller, The Housemaid. After all, Christy and Eden bombed at the box office, Echo Valley didn't do too much for Apple TV, and all three films were dismissed by critics. However, it seems as if Sweeney is back on track with her new movie, which she stars in alongside Amanda Seyfried.
Directed by Paul Feig, The Housemaid is an adaptation of author Freida McFadden's 2022 novel of the same name. As she's easily become one of the most beloved writers in the thriller genre as of late, fans are expecting big things from the new movie, which – based on what the majority of critics have to say thus far – seems to deliver. Debuting with a solid 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing, Megan Navarro from Bloody Disgusting writes:
"The salacious twists of McFadden's massive hit novel get dialed up to a delightfully deranged degree, making for a wildly entertaining psychological thriller that lets Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney cut loose in the most comedic and violent ways."
"The Housemaid manages the nifty trick of wallowing in tropes about morally weak and mentally unstable women and then turning them on their head," adds MovieWeb's own, Mark Keizer, in his review. Also starring Brandon Sklenar, Michele Morrone, and Elizabeth Perkins, Brian Truitt from USA Today notes that even though the movie "doesn't hit all the marks of its addictive source material," it's still "wild enough to be a holiday guilty pleasure." Check out the official synopsis for The Housemaid below:
"From director Paul Feig, The Housemaid plunges audiences into a twisted world where perfection is an illusion, and nothing is as it seems. Trying to escape her past, Millie (Sweeney) accepts a job as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Nina (Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Sklenar). But what begins as a dream job quickly unravels into something far more dangerous – a sexy, seductive game of secrets, scandal, and power. Behind the Winchesters' closed doors lies a world of shocking twists that will leave you guessing until the very end."
'The Housemaid' Could Be the Start of a Beautiful Franchise
Set to hit theaters this Friday, December 19, The Housemaid is the first in what could be a trilogy of movies if it does well at the box office. McFadden has two more novels (The Housemaid's Secret, The Housemaid Is Watching) in the series, as well as a short story (The Housemaid's Wedding), meaning there's plenty of material to draw from should it prove successful. So far the future looks good, as critic Mark Kennedy from the Associated Press writes:
"Santa left us a present this holiday season and it is exactly what we didn't know we needed: A twisty, psychological horror-thriller with nudity that's all wrapped up in an empowerment message… This naughty movie is definitely on the nice list."
Also called "titillating," "captivating," and "hysterical," it seems as if The Housemaid is definitely one you're going to want to see in theaters. Look for it this weekend when it opens nationwide from Lionsgate.
