The Housemaid: Release Date, Full Cast, Plot Details, and How to Watch
Sydney Sweeney is everywhere—from fronting a jeans campaign to scoring in the sports drama Christy and teasing more Euphoria—but the real frenzy is for The Housemaid, a big-screen thriller steeped in twisting mysteries, buried secrets, and nerve-jangling tension as it heads to theaters.
Sydney Sweeney is everywhere right now — from that jeans campaign to a new sports drama called Christy and, yes, the never-ending chatter about more Euphoria. But the project with the most heat is her next big-screen thriller, The Housemaid. It looks glossy, tense, and twisty in a way that feels built for a packed theater. Here is the lay of the land so far.
So what is The Housemaid?
Short version: a psychological thriller with a lot of secrets and the kind of creeping dread that never raises its voice. Sweeney plays Millie, a young woman determined to reset her life. She lands a job as a live-in housekeeper for a wealthy couple — Nina and Andrew — and right away the fancy mansion gives off the wrong kind of quiet.
On the surface, the couple looks like a brochure. Inside the house, everything feels controlled to the point of suffocating. Nina swings from charm to chaos, Andrew keeps his distance, and Millie can’t shake the sense that someone’s always watching. The longer she stays, the more she picks up on the cracks — and those cracks point to something genuinely dangerous.
Based on a true story? Nope — a hit novel
If the setup sounds like it could be ripped from a real-life headline, that’s just the genre doing its job. The Housemaid is adapted from Freida McFadden’s 2022 bestselling novel, not a true story. The book blew up because of its dark turns and propulsive pacing, and the film is clearly aiming for that same keep-you-guessing vibe.
Who is making it (and who’s in it)?
Paul Feig is directing — the same Paul Feig behind Bridesmaids and A Simple Favor — which is an interesting swing. When he leans into tension and character gamesmanship, things tend to pop.
- Director: Paul Feig
- Millie: Sydney Sweeney
- Nina: Amanda Seyfried
- Andrew (Nina’s husband): Brandon Sklenar
- Enzo (the groundskeeper): Michele Morrone
- Cecelia (the couple’s daughter): Indiana Elle
- Distributor: Lionsgate
- Release date: December 19, 2025 (in theaters)
Where they shot it
Production set up shop in New Jersey, which is pretty perfect if you want suburban polish with a shadowy undertow. Ridgewood hosted a chunk of the shoot — including a local supermarket and the legendary hot dog spot Rutt’s Hut — with additional filming in Montclair and Cresskill. The locations give the movie a lived-in, neighborhood feel that should make the weirdness hit harder.
There is a trailer, and it sets a tone
Lionsgate dropped the first trailer on September 16. It opens with Nina interviewing Millie inside a pristine, borderline intimidating mansion. Everything looks flawless; none of it feels safe. From there you get sharp flashes: Nina shattering dishes on the kitchen floor, Enzo stepping in to steady her, and Millie clocking that this household is not what it’s selling.
The kicker is the final beat. Millie wraps the interview all polite and composed, heads out, gets into her car, takes off her glasses — and her whole expression changes. It’s a quick little mask-drop that makes one thing clear: the help has secrets, too.
When you can actually see it
The Housemaid hits theaters on December 19, 2025. Plenty of time to read the book, overthink the trailer, and decide whether you’re Team Millie or Team Get-Out-Of-That-House-Immediately.
Between Sweeney’s current run — ad campaigns, Christy, and whatever is next for Euphoria — and Feig leaning into a sleek, jittery thriller mode, this one has the right ingredients. I’m in.