The Housemaid Caps Sydney Sweeney’s 2025 — Flawed, Fierce, Unmissable
Lionsgate drops the final trailer for The Housemaid, a razor-edged psychological thriller led by Amanda Seyfried as Nina and Sydney Sweeney as Millie, opening December 19. Early viewers say it crackles with nervy assurance, primed to close out Sweeney’s 2025 on a bold note.
File this under: glossy thrillers that know exactly what they are. Lionsgate just dropped the final trailer for The Housemaid, and early reactions are basically saying the movie leans into the mess on purpose. Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried playing psychological chess? I am listening.
What is The Housemaid?
It is a psychological thriller from director Paul Feig and writer Rebecca Sonnenshine, adapted from Freida McFadden's 2022 novel. Sweeney plays Millie Calloway, trying to outrun a rough past, who takes a live-in job with the ultra-loaded Winchester family. Seyfried is Nina Winchester, Andrew is her husband (Brandon Sklenar), and their perfect-mansion life looks great until it very much does not. Think glamorous domestic setup, then pull the rug: secrets, leverage, bad choices, worse consequences. It is intentionally heightened, and the trailer makes that crystal clear.
The early buzz
Critics who saw it early keep using versions of the same phrase: it is trashy in a good way. Paul Shirey calls it a pulpy, crowd-pleasing winter sleeper. Zach Pope went in expecting a tidy drama and came out rattled by how many twists the movie piles on (apparently this plays great with a full audience). Adam Patla points to Seyfried as the engine that makes the ridiculousness work. Fico Cangiano filed it under year-end surprise. Doug Jones notes Feig tapping into a darker gear behind the camera. None of that reads like prestige fishing; it sounds like a deliberate swing at glossy, twisty entertainment.
Yes, that Paul Feig
If you mostly associate Feig with comedy, this is him steering into a shadowier lane. The tone still has snap and humor, but the vibe is: knives out in a marble kitchen.
Seyfried and Sweeney, locked in
Off camera, the two apparently fell into an easy rhythm filming in a New Jersey mansion. They weirdly bonded over the laundry room setup (little window, an island, double washer and dryer, and a frankly aggressive number of baskets). The practical work mattered too: Sweeney says they did plenty of the messy bits themselves, including Millie dropping a tray of sentimental family china. Seyfried admits the stunt-y stuff got sketchy at times — some of that glass was real, and one sequence turned into a milk explosion — but the trust carried them through. Sweeney will not say what she hopes you take away because spoilers. Seyfried, meanwhile, sells it like this:
'This movie is insanely exciting, and it is really funny in ways you do not expect it to be funny... It is truly satisfying.'
Who is in it, and when can you see it?
- Cast: Sydney Sweeney (Millie Calloway), Amanda Seyfried (Nina Winchester), Brandon Sklenar (Andrew Winchester), Michele Morrone (Enzo), Elizabeth Perkins (Evelyn Winchester), Indiana Elle (Cecelia Winchester), Mark Grossman (Scott Crawford), Hannah Cruz (Lexi), Megan Ferguson (Jilianne), Ellen Tamaki (Patrice)
- Director: Paul Feig
- Screenplay: Rebecca Sonnenshine
- Based on: Freida McFadden's 2022 novel
- Genre: Psychological thriller
- Production company: Hidden Pictures
- Distributor: Lionsgate
- Theatrical release: December 19, 2025
- Release territories: United States and Canada
Bottom line: The Housemaid is not chasing perfection; it is chasing sensation. Between the gleeful twists and the cast swinging hard, this looks like a confident year-ender for Sweeney and another reminder that Seyfried can control a storm. Are you in for a slick, maybe-slightly-deranged December thriller, or does that much excess scare you off? I am curious where you land.