"I'd argue that this dismally underpowered remake of the late Curtis Hanson's tremendously enjoyable 1992 psycho thriller about a nanny (Rebecca De Mornay) out for revenge on the woman she blamed for her miscarriage and the suicide of her husband lands with a thud in TV movie territory. Made under the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios banner, it was originally envisioned, before plans changed, as something for Disney's anodyne ABC Family Channel (since rebranded as Freeform). It looks it too."
"The waters have been muddied by the likes of Netflix, which is in the habit of shoving films like the $200m dud The Gray Man into cinemas for a week before putting them into streaming release. Visually, it's flat and bland. Dramatically, it's inert and almost devoid of suspense. Take away some mild swearing, a little sex and a rushed, predictably gory climax and you could be watching daytime telly."
"It opens with a flashback of a little girl watching a family burn to death in a house fire. Then we're back in the present with two women. Caitlin (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a corporate lawyer who's heavily pregnant with her second child, is doing some pro-bono work for the hard-up. The younger Polly (Maika Monroe) turns up looking for her help."
A dismally underpowered remake of a 1992 psycho thriller plays and looks like daytime television. The production was made under 20th Century Studios and was originally envisioned for a family-oriented channel, which contributes to its anodyne tone. Visual presentation is flat and bland, and dramatic pacing is inert with little suspense. The film contains mild swearing, brief sexual content and a rushed, predictable gory climax. The narrative opens with a childhood house fire and follows Caitlin, a pregnant corporate lawyer, who hires Polly, a younger nanny-like figure whose cold, dead-eyed manner suggests she is worming her way into the family.
Read at Irish Independent
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