In The Housemaid, Sydney Sweeney flaunts her goods, Amanda Seyfried puts on a show, and Brandon Sklenar flashes a toothy grin, the combination of which makes for a trashy, entertaining, and sexy thriller.
From Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) and based on the book by Freida McFadden, The Housemaid has Nina (Seyfried) for some reason hiring not-at-all-attractive Millie (Sweeney) to be a live-in maid. Nina’s cheery demeanor quickly is supplanted by manic deception, causing Millie to wonder what the hell is going on and why the seemingly perfect Andrew (Sklenar) puts up with her shit. Things spiral from there.
A movie best enjoyed without knowing where things are headed, The Housemaid isn’t shockingly unpredictable and yet it takes a few devilishly ruthless turns that will leave you grinning from ear to ear.
Feig dives right in, planting the seeds for what would blossom at the halfway point. For a while, he’s content presenting the movie as a shlocky, naughty, and even cheesy romance, with Millie and Andrew circling each other even as Nina becomes increasingly psychotic. It may not all make perfect sense, but when the clothes come off, things sizzle. We don’t get unabashedly shameless sex in movies much these days, so it’s nice to see Feig cater to our more basic instincts and desires.
It’s the second half when The Housemaid ratchets up, however. Feig twists the knife and delivers a gleefully lethal sprint to the climax. Every moment is fun through and through, the movie a refreshing blast of B-grade schlock passing itself off as high-grade entertainment.
That elevation is in part thanks to its stars. Seyfried is particularly excellent, her increasingly unhinged performance executed perfectly. Sweeney is great too. People seem to take delight in the popular actresses’ box office failings (Christy is actually good, and never was going to dominate at the box office), but The Housemaid is her sole mainstream release of 2025 and one that deserves to make serious bucks. Sweeney is scorching hot in the movie, but she also flashes her acting talents more than a few times. Sklenar is also really good for reasons I won’t go into here.
The Housemaid may be cheesy, and it’s best not to think too hard about its finer details, but A-grade acting, playful direction, and a fast-paced story that zigs and zags at just the right moments make this one a must-see.
Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.