Every House Has Its Secrets

Freida McFadden's “The Housemaid” Has Officially Been Released as a Movie

Photo from Heute.at / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

!! Spoilers Ahead !!

Written by Freida McFadden, “The Housemaid” was released in theatres on Dec. 19, 2025, starring Amanda Seyfried, Sydney Sweeney and Brandon Sklenar. Fans were thrilled by the casting, saying each actor closely resembled their imagination for the characters. The book was McFadden's bestselling thriller, leading her to produce three more books and turn them into a series. The trailer for the movie was released in Sept. 2025, exciting readers all around the world. “The Housemaid” is an exciting thriller that lives up to the reputation of the novel by delivering suspense, unpredictable plot twists and powerful acting that leaves audiences entertained. 

McFadden's book starts by introducing the novel’s main characters: Millie Calloway, Nina Winchester and Andrew Winchester. Nina hires Millie as their housemaid, but just after the first night, Millie starts to wonder if taking the job was a mistake. She begins to realize that Nina is unstable, constantly throwing fits and blaming Millie for things she did not do. Millie has already spent part of her life in prison and living out of her car, but is that life better than the one she is about to walk into? With a major plot twist shown towards the end of the movie, “The Housemaid” is sure to shock and amaze its audience. 

The book was labeled one of the best thrillers ever written, and the movie adaptation was nothing short of that. It captured the plot twist in a way that kept the audience on the edge of their seats. With fans not being able to guess the way the movie would end, the suspense build in this movie was extraordinary, greatly earning its label as a thriller. One reason the suspense was so capturing is the length of time in which it took for the plot twist to be revealed. The majority of the movie leads the audience to what they assume is the plot, making them believe they understand the movie’s plot, prompting no suspicion. Then, when the audience least expects it, there’s a complete redirection, creating shock and thrill, making the suspense factor of this movie high.

While there were quite a few moments in the movie that were left out from the book and newly added, the movie was still deemed a hit, with some even saying that it’s  better than the book in its own ways. For example, the book features the character Enzo, who was the Winchester's gardener, as a major contributor to the story's plot line. In the book, Enzo was shown helping Nina escape Andrew and forming a relationship with her, but in the movie, Enzo was barely shown as a main character. While this was a significant change, it is not as important to the film's plot. A major difference between the movie and the book was the ending: instead of forcing Andrew to kill himself, the movie shows Millie killing Andrew herself. While this was a bold change, many fans have said that this ending made the storyline better, adding more suspense in the end with fans having no idea what would happen next. 

With Sweeney, Seyfried and Sklenar cast as the main actors, fans were both nervous and excited to see how these actors would bring the characters to life. Although this movie was not Seyfried’s first thriller movie, fans were curious to see how she would portray the “crazy” Nina Winchester. After watching the movie, many were shocked at the intense and convincing acting that she was able to produce. Sklenar also expertly played the role of Andrew, embodying a psycho husband with everything he had. The chemistry between Sklenar and Sweeney made the plot twist even harder to identify and was unbelievable. With these strong performances, it was hard for fans not to be impressed by both the acting and the characters. 

Both the movie and book are amazing forms of thriller and are a 10/10 must-read or must-watch for anyone. But do not forget, it is a privilege to be able to experience this story. 

<Star Ratings>

Suspense: ★★★★★

Accuracy: ★★★★★

Acting: ★★★★★

Overall: ★★★★★