The Housekeeper (2024)

The Housekeeper (2024) (Deadly Secret)

Not to be confused with the romantic drama directed by Richard Eyre, based on the novel of the same name by Rose Tremain, which starred Caitríona Balfe, Emma Laird, Anthony Hopkins, and Helena Bonham Carter. Nor with the one directed by LaQuita Langhorn, starring Devin Banks, Natavious Banks, Cameron Cottrell, and Marion Hamm III. Oh, and there’s also the French film by Claude Berri, starring Jean-Pierre Bacri, the late Emilie Dequenne, and Brigitte Catillon.

Here’s the first review I read about this movie after watching it: “The worst movie I’ve seen in many years: poorly acted, poorly shot, no plot to speak of, and clichés borrowed from every Z-grade movie. Nothing makes sense, and nothing is believable. Even the music is bad. Avoid at all costs!!!”

Well, Suspense isn’t actually that bad! But I say that because I’m being lenient. If the ending had been incredible, I wouldn’t have held it against the movie for keeping me on the edge of my seat for nothing!

But it’s definitely a movie that’s supposed to be scary and ends up making you laugh instead! Pretty cool and funny! Probably because the actors are kind of funny despite themselves! Even the music is funny! Entertaining but will be quickly forgotten. It still gave me a good time, though.

Here’s another review: “A minimalist thriller that doesn’t rise above the level of an afternoon TV movie. So… frankly, not a very good TV movie! This thriller features performances that are sorely lacking in conviction and very lackluster direction. Which is a shame, because the initial premise is quite intriguing.” Yes, I remained forgiving throughout the entire movie, hoping for a spectacular finale. In the end, it’s very basic, lackluster, and disappointing. I obviously got a little nostalgic thrill out of seeing Denise Richards again, even though I’ve never been a huge fan of hers. I’ve never thought she was incredible in a movie, but I respect her. Anyway! This is definitely not a memorable film.

Here’s a very brief comment: “It’s a thriller that lacks suspense. The actors perform well, but it’s hard to get into.” There are all kinds of opinions. In fact, Denise Richards is still Denise Richards! Richard Gunn has good charisma, but he’s very replaceable in this movie. He doesn’t do anything that other actors couldn’t have done. And the young and adorable Ilean Almaguer does a pretty good job! But it’s not exactly mind-blowing either.

From the very first minutes, the film raises no expectations, and yet it still manages to disappoint. Many have said that the acting is simply disastrous—to the point of being the only truly frightening thing in this feature film. The plot, though simplistic, manages to leave viewers perplexed despite numerous attempts to make sense of the characters’ logic and the director’s narrative choices. As for the ending, it’s just as deplorable as the rest—if not worse. Someone wrote: “It’s definitely in my top 3 worst endings ever.” I’m still giving this movie a 0.5, largely because of the unintentional laughter it gave me, and because it’s impossible to give it a zero on the site where I wrote my review!”

There you go! My review was pretty much shaped by other opinions, as you can see, and the worst part is that everything’s already been said and there’s nothing left to add. So, it’s up to you to decide if you want to avoid this movie at all costs, but know that I didn’t hate it like most people did. It all depends on whether you’re a good audience or not, whether you’re too demanding or not. Being a film enthusiast also means being able to watch movies that are bad. I understand the critics, but I managed to be more forgiving.

It’s clearly not as good as The Housemaid (2025). So, if you already hated that one, there’s no point in watching this one!