The hit 1992 thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is getting a remake, and its first trailer has just dropped. The film stars Longlegs’ Maika Monroe and Ahsoka’s Mary Elizabeth Winstead, telling the story of a suburban mother (Winstead) who invites a new nanny (Monroe) into her home, only to learn uncomfortable truths about her new hire.
The director behind this iteration of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is Michelle Garza Cervera, a Mexican filmmaker who took on the project as her sophomore effort. Her first film, Huesera: The Bone Woman, garnered accolades at the Tribeca Film Festival and set her up well to reimagine a cult classic.
ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan spoke with The Hand That Rocks the Cradle director Michelle Garza Cervera about her approach to the film. The director shared the idea that broke the story open for her and captivated her interest while hyping up the performances of her stars. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle remake comes to Hulu on October 22.
The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Is A Reimagining, Not A Remake
Michelle Garza Cervera’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is something she never thought she would make. “I’m only starting, this is my second film, but it’s not like I particularly have [an interest in] remakes,” she said. “I thought I was never going to do one.”
But Cervera was approached thanks to the strength of her feature debut–“also a domestic horror film,” she explained–and found something that made the project worthwhile. “An idea got into my mind that really changed the whole concept, but kept the plot, in a way,” she explained.
“The moment I got the project, I moved away from the original film.”
“I really admire [it] and I really respect it,” she continued, “[but] I really believe the best way to approach a remake is not to touch it … not try to repeat it.” Cervera directed her team to “not be comparing” their version of the story to the original, which left them with familiar building blocks but a different interpretation.
“We kept the plot, we kept some of the dynamics [of] having a 10-year-old girl, a baby, [and] the ages of the characters, but the whole thing, the city [and] the themes particularly are very different,” she said. “The motivations for revenge and the way the conflict grows in the film … it’s particular to this new story and characters.”
Despite having little to do with the making of the movie’s trailer, Cervera believes that it proves her point. “It really shows that it’s a reimagination of the original film; that it’s not a remake.”
The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Will Be Even Darker This Time Around
The original The Hand That Rocks the Cradle film boasts strong performances and has its share of dark subject matter, but certain moments have also been seen–especially in retrospect–as overly dramatic or borderline corny. Don’t expect the same with Cervera’s version.
“It’s actually pretty dark,” the director promised. “It puts the characters more in gray areas, and there’s a mirroring thing between the antagonist and the protagonist,” she said. Cervera pitched the idea to 20th Century Studios, who let her “work with this amazing writer (Micah Bloomberg) that is really good with this kind of character development.”
Cervera’s version of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle “speaks about something that I wanted to dissect as a filmmaker,” she revealed, “which is generational trauma and cycles of violence–how they repeat … There’s something there that is so hard to escape from when there’s trauma.”
“Sometimes people think [revenge and violence] can solve things–pain or heartbreak–and it only perpetuates it.”
The Dynamic Between Maika Monroe & Mary Elizabeth Winstead Is A Highlight
The rich story Cervera has found in retelling The Hand That Rocks the Cradle will land with audiences based in large part on the strength of the movie’s stars. Thankfully, the director had exciting things to say about those performances: “We had long meetings, talking [about] the biographies of our characters, and it became so particular and specific.”
“It was incredible to work with them,” Cervera added, “There’s definitely a very interesting attraction and chemistry between these two characters that I think is very bold and challenging of the genre.” Even on set, the director said, the performances were next-level: “We were on set, and it was completely chilling.”
“There [are] very incredible moments that I think only actresses of that level can achieve.”
What’s Next For Michelle Garza Cervera?
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was a huge step forward for Cervera. “I was scared at first, because I’ve been working all my life in Mexico,” she admitted, “and I thought the industry [in the U.S.] was going to be super different.” But she got used to Hollywood quickly: “This is a craft that’s the same thing everywhere.”
Still, she said, “[It’s] going to take me years to really understand how much I’ve grown from doing this film. I feel like I’ve lost a lot of fears … I feel like, now, this is the way I approach directing, and this is how I like to do it.”
Cervera reflected on what she hopes to do with that newfound self-ᴀssurance. “I really wanted to go through the process of doing a remake,” she said, “but I feel like, right now, I want to go back to direct an original film.”
“I’m also a writer–[I wrote] the feature I directed in Mexico–so right now what I’m really craving is going back to the supernatural and something original. So, that’s definitely next.”
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle comes to Hulu on October 22.
