Teamwork: Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried in ‘The Housemaid’.
THE HOUSEMAID ***1/2 (132 minutes) MA
Craving a big, juicy slice of deliciously cheesy trash? Then rejoice at the unleashing of The Housemaid, a ripper psychological schlocker that looks and feels like it sprung out of that beautiful time in the 1980s and early-90s when thrillers emphasised excess and hammy style over restraint and good taste.
A hapless parolee (Sydney Sweeney) in dire need of a job gets to work as a live-in helper for a wealthy woman (Amanda Seyfried) who, despite initial impressions, appears to be out of her tree.
Tensions rise between the attractive young housemaid – Is it still legal to refer to Sydney Sweeney in this manner? Who knows, who knows – and her employer’s handsome husband (Brandon Sklenar), causing existing rifts in the family to deepen.
Like all good exploitation thrillers the film takes a sharp left turn just when you think you’ve got a handle on things. And, observing the finest schlock traditions, there are some great “ick” moments that will make even the most devout gym junkie squirm.
The three leads do top work, though it’s the elongated face-off between Seyfried and Sweeney that make things cook.
For a vibe reading, think: Single White Female; The Hand That Rocks the Cradle; The Crush; Sleeping With the Enemy; Poison Ivy; Body Heat; Fatal Attraction; and so on.
It’s hugely enjoyable. What better way to digest and decompress after the culinary excesses of Christmas?
ANACONDA *** (100 minutes) M
Lots of feather-weight fun in this nifty, swift adventure-comedy as two longtime buddies (Jack Black; Paul Rudd) try to shed their mid-life malaise and revive their long-abandoned filmmaking dream by heading down to the Amazon to do a low-budget remake of the 1997 adventure film Anaconda.
A constant flow of verbal and visual gags along with Black’s signature overacting make this nutty jaunt an easy sit, with some nice guest spots from the original cast and a few blunt-edged jabs at modern filmmaking.
Of course, the film spares itself from any meta-joking about its own story holes, the main one being why an ultra-low budget film set in the Amazon would burn up a large chunk of its budget by actually going to the Amazon.
Still, good fun all round, no risk.
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