With a near-total re-imagining of its source material, Michelle Garza Cervera’s “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle” layers contemporary political themes atop Curtis Hanson’s original 1992 domestic thriller, about an uncanny nanny invading the sanctity of the American home. The remake, releasing directly to Hulu, turns the structure of Amanda Silver’s original screenplay inside out, introducing a mystery element to its antagonist’s motives and imbuing the eerie saga with sensibilities that threaten to blossom into delightfully lurid camp. Unfortunately, the piece ends up laid low by a climax that peters out by taking itself too seriously, but the film’s totality is still made worthwhile by its central performances.
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