The Hand That Rocks the Cradle: Critic Reviews

Hanson creates the occasionally effective shock effect to satisfy those who want to squeal in mock fright. More often the devices he uses are such tired tricks... to create the illusion of suspense that can't be sustained.

This anti-feminist parable is both a labor and a pain.

Curtis Hanson's direction and Amanda Silver's screenplay are both models of no-flab craft and intelligence, and all the actors (who also include Ernie Hudson and Julianne Moore) are believable from the first frame to the last.

A low-key thriller that will make baby boomers double-check the references of any prospective nanny.

Cradle is the kind of cheap thrill you hate yourself for responding to. But director Curtis Hanson and a terrific cast provide enough scary fun to make Cradle the first fright-night hit of '92.

This jovially sinister, middle-class morality tale-cum-horror show is predictable, implausible and fiendishly entertaining.

De Mornay seems to have found her true vocation playing the nanny from hell, but while the ensuing thrills may well be enjoyed by many, anyone with offspring of their own would be wise to stay away.

Scary premise of mad sitter vs mother and child...effective.

Touted as Fatal Attraction for the 1990s, this well-directed thrille (by Curtis Hanson) also features a blonde sociopath, except that the terror in of the family in this yarn is from within.

As the film progresses, malicious schemes and loony excesses are combined, with Hanson's self-conscious direction rendering one particularly sensational murder even more implausible.

Great suspense thriller.

Lots of Fun, Lots of thrills

De Mornay at her diabolical best.

There are a few surprises and some clever misdirection, but it does take a long time to get there.