The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a 1992 American thriller film directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Amanda Silver.

The film stars Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Ernie Hudson, Julianne Moore and Madeline Zima.

The plot follows the pregnant wife of a Seattle obstetrician who commits suicide after he is accused of sexual misconduct by some of his patients.

The shock leads the wife to miscarry, after which she poses as a nanny for one of her late husband's accusers and slowly begins to infiltrate the family.

The film's title is taken from the 1865 poem by William Ross Wallace and there are several nods to the 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance.

[4] In the home video market, it became the top rental in July 1992,[5] and was the seventh-most rented film of 1992 in the United States.

When she confronts "Peyton" about her real identity and asks for Claire, Mrs. Mott tricks her into going into the greenhouse, where she springs the boobytrap and is killed by the falling glass ceiling.

Michael is left distraught over Marlene's death and his wife's condition; Mrs. Mott attempts to seduce him, but he rejects her.

They fire "Peyton" and order her to leave immediately without packing her belongings, and Michael tells Claire to get the kids so they can head to a hotel for safety.

Touched at how Solomon risked his life to protect her family, Claire welcomes him back, and they all leave the attic to help Michael as the police and paramedics arrive.

The consensus summarizes: "Thanks largely to Rebecca De Mornay's delightfully villainous turn in the central role, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is an entertaining -- albeit rather silly -- domestic thriller.

He mentioned that his "biggest objection to The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is to its scenes with the children in jeopardy or psychic pain."

"[15] Vincent Canby of The New York Times said of the film that "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is meant to scare audiences more or less in the way that the patrons of the early nickelodeons were frightened when they saw the image of a train rushing at them.

Don't be gulled by those who would compare The Hand That Rocks the Cradle to Fatal Attraction, which features three strong characters who, in one way or another, are ready to answer for their actions."

More often the devices he uses are such tired tricks as the crosscutting between two sets of simultaneous, often innocent, actions to create the illusion of suspense that can't be sustained.

[21] The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was released on VHS on July 8, 1992, on DVD on December 8, 1998 with the original theatrical trailer as the sole special feature.

On September 26, 2024, it was announced that a new remake of the 1992 movie would be in the works at 20th Century Studios, starring Maika Monroe with Michelle Garza Cervera directing and Micah Bloomberg writing the script.