Movie

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

1992 · 110 min

A slow-building domestic nightmare that makes you hyper-aware of every creak and closed door, with a villain whose calm smile is more frightening than any monster.

Tagline: Trust is her weapon. Innocence her opportunity. Revenge her only desire.
Overview: 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.

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How it feels

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Tone: tensestrength 3 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: revenge
betrayal
family
obsession
deception
Places: suburbs
home
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: twist ending
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence strong
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	4
Horror	5
Humour	2
Realism	7
Romance	2
Tension	8
Darkness	7
Complexity	5
Emotional weight	7

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Details

Genres: drama, thriller
Directed by: Curtis Hanson
Written by: Amanda Silver
Starring: Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Ernie Hudson, Madeline Zima, Julianne Moore, John de Lancie, Kevin Skousen
Music: Graeme Revell
Cinematography: Robert Elswit
Runtime: 110 min
Country: United States of America
Languages: English

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The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

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