The Housemaid (2025) reviews

The Fuzzy Mushroom take on The Housemaid

By Fuzzy Mushroom · Updated 14 November 2026 · The Pros 72 · The Punters 67 · Spore Score 70 · How we write our takes

Why The Pros and The Punters broadly agree

The Housemaid is a twisty bestseller adaptation that mostly pleases both camps. The Pros give it 72, The Punters 67, and the Spore Score sits at 70, a mostly clear result with a 5-point gap. Neither side is pretending it is high art. They are agreeing that it is a satisfying, trashy-in-a-good-way thriller.

What it is

Paul Feig directs this adaptation of Freida McFadden's hugely popular novel. Sydney Sweeney plays Millie, a young woman with a past who takes a live-in job as a housekeeper for a wealthy couple, Nina and Andrew, played by Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar. Nina's behaviour quickly turns erratic and cruel, and Millie starts to realise the house is hiding more than a messy family.

What it does well

Seyfried has a great time as a host who swings from sweet to unhinged, and Sweeney holds the centre as someone smarter than she lets on. Feig keeps the pace brisk, leans into the glossy suburban menace, and handles the story's big mid-point turn well, which is the moment that made the book a word-of-mouth hit.

Where it falls short

Readers of the novel will know every twist in advance, and the film does not add much to surprise them. Some of the darker material in the last act is played for crowd-pleasing thrills rather than real tension, and the supporting characters are thin.

Who it is for

Fans of the book, and anyone who enjoys domestic thrillers in the vein of Gone Girl or a good airport paperback. Go in knowing as little as possible.

The Fuzzy Mushroom verdict

Worth a watch, with a Spore Score of 70. A slick, enjoyable page-to-screen thriller with a strong double act at its centre, and one that critics and audiences rate much the same.