THE HOUSEMAID First Reactions: Critics Praise Sydney Sweeney And Amanda Seyfried's "Wild" New Thriller

THE HOUSEMAID First Reactions: Critics Praise Sydney Sweeney And Amanda Seyfried's "Wild" New Thriller

The social media embargo for The Housemaid has lifted, and critics are heaping praise on Ghostbusters director Paul Feig's adaptation of the 2022 novel by Freida McFadden. You can learn more here...

By JoshWilding - Nov 26, 2025 08:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Horror
Source: Fear HQ

Based on the hit 2022 novel by Freida McFadden, The Housemaid is a psychological thriller directed by Paul Feig and written by Rebecca Sonnenshine. The movie also boasts an impressive cast, led by Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, and Michele Morrone.

The movie plunges audiences into a twisted world where perfection is an illusion, and nothing is as it seems. Trying to escape her past, Millie (Sweeney) accepts a job as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Nina (Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Sklenar).

However, what begins as a dream job quickly unravels into something far more dangerous — a sexy, seductive game of secrets, scandal, and power. Behind the Winchesters’ closed doors lies a world of shocking twists that will leave you guessing until the very end.

As we reported on FearHQ.com earlier today, the first social media reactions have started arriving on X. They're all overwhelmingly positive, and while this is the norm for early screenings, there are plenty of legitimate critics here, not just influencers or YouTubers.

It's said that while The Housemaid "leans into camp in the best possible way," it's also "dark and riveting with edge-of-your-seat tension."

"This movie is unhinged - in the best way possible," another reaction stated, with Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney described as "phenomenal," "incredible," and "spectacular." It also sounds like the ending packs a real punch. 

McFadden recently took to Instagram to share her take on this big screen adaptation of her best-selling novel:

"I absolutely loved it! The second it was over, I turned to my husband in the theater and said, 'Omg, I think it was better than the book!' And he said, 'Yeah.' They captured everything that readers love about the novel! And the performances by all the actors were nothing short of incredible. It almost made me want to write another Housemaid book. Almost! The only problem is, I don't know how I'm going to be able to wait until December to get to watch it again!"

The Housemaid arrives in theaters on December 19. You can read through the first reactions below,

About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
Comic Book Reader. Film Lover. WWE and F1 Fan. Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and ComicBookMovie.com's #1 contributor.
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GComix85
GComix85 - 11/26/2025, 8:39 AM
Content Mills and Mass (Re-)Production

Content mills are web companies whose main goal is to produce as much content as possible as fast as possible. Typically, this content appears in the form of cheap, low-quality, yet clickable blog posts, articles and videos that maximize ad revenue. It’s very much about quantity over quality. The more you produce, the more money you stand to make (though the pay for writers reportedly sucks).

According to writer Chelle Stein, intrinsic to content mills is the creation of “content that is going to rank in search engines.” The author additionally states that plagiarism constitutes “...a major problem with content mills because these writers are typically not experts in their field, so they simply search in Google and then rewrite what is already there.”
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 11/26/2025, 9:12 AM
@GComix85 - this had been going on for a long time now.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 11/26/2025, 9:00 AM
Cool , glad to see the positive critical reactions so far which I hope continue!!.

I haven’t read the book but the movie seems to have a similar vibe to “A Simple Favor” which was also directed by Paul Feig (haven’t seen the sequel) and I liked that…

Anyway , the movie has seemed like it could be good so looking forward to checking it out when I can.
SteviesRightFoo
SteviesRightFoo - 11/26/2025, 9:04 AM
What married woman is hiring those milkers to be a live in house maid🤣
LenSpiderman
LenSpiderman - 11/26/2025, 9:04 AM
One of these days, one of Sydney Sweeney’s “incredible performances” might actually be an incredible performance and not just her failing to hide the fact that she resents having to show up for work. Just like one of these days, one of Glen Powell’s “rollicking good times” will be more than a cliche filled turd with a chiseled jaw in the lead.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 11/26/2025, 9:14 AM
Sweeney’s acting is reminiscent of Kristen Stewart.
Aka… Not Good. (Nice New York Bewbs though)

Moriakum
Moriakum - 11/26/2025, 9:20 AM
Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney you say?
User Comment Image
MisterBones
MisterBones - 11/26/2025, 10:31 AM
Seyfried is always good. The other 2 I don’t buy at all. Sklenar has the charisma and range of a wet blanket
Astroman
Astroman - 11/26/2025, 1:03 PM
The writer:
"I absolutely loved it! The second it was over, I turned to my husband in the theater and said, 'Omg, I think it was better than the book!' And he said, 'Yeah.'

And the award for painful honesty goes to her husband.

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