The Housemaid

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The Housemaid

1960

1h 30m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Piano composer Dong-sik (Eun-shim Lee) and his pregnant wife (Jeung-nyeo Ju) need extra help around the house, so they hire a housemaid (Kim Jin-kyu), whose precociousness soon gives way to troubling behavior. Tensions between her and Dong-sik lead to an affair, and while the pregnancy ends in a miscarriage, it also results in the maid becoming obsessed with killing the entire family, starting with their older son. Soon their comfortable home becomes a physical and psychological battleground.

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Dustin Chang

Floating World

Aug 27, 2023

It's not lust she's after. She just wants what others have, because that's what a consumerist capitalist is supposed to do.

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Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

Aug 6, 2020

4/5

Claustrophobic and relentless, 'The Housemaid' is the perfect intersection of noir and horror, and one of South Korea's greatest films.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Jan 18, 2017

... a wildly melodramatic story of middle class ambition set almost entirely in a two-story home that becomes something of a prison as the web of desire and anxiety and loathing and social standing closes in on them.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Jul 18, 2014

B

The strange film has reached cult classic status, as it lays out a nightmarish scenario over its soap opera story.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Jan 28, 2011

[This] story is perfectly captured in a poetic, demonic way by the camera.

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 6, 2026

Definitely Recommend It

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Gi S

@Gistevenn Feb 5, 2026

Even better than the new sydney\seyfried one.

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-McNulty -

@RT82556545 May 11, 2025

Compelling, almost like a horror without the supernatural. Very engaging camera movement and action.

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Lon W

@LONWOLF1968 Apr 26, 2025

OKAY I HAD NEVER HEARD OF THIS FILM. THE ' CITIZEN KANE OF SOUTH KOREA '. BUT PHILLY HAD ONE SHOWING AND I THOUGHT IT'D BE COOL. LOVE THE ERA AND YEAR I WAS BORN 1960. PLUS BLACK AND WHITE......SO HERE I AM IN A PRETTY PACKED THEATER AND I AM LAUGHING OUT LOUD LIKE A LITTLE GIRL AT A HANNAH MONTANA CONCERT!! NOBODY ELSE WAS LAUGHING AND I THOUGHT I MIGHT GET BEATEN....BUT THE END!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!! NO SPOILER.

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Vitor O

@RT19027067 Mar 19, 2025

An incredibly tense South Korean thriller that easily holds up to this day.

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Madam D

@Madam1948 Mar 15, 2025

Very odd, intense film made during a time in South Korea that was very conservative. By modern standards the plot is overly dramatic, but with cultural & financial overtones that made sense at the time. Ending turns it into a moral play.

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Kim Ki-young

Director

Kim Jin-kyu

Kim Dongsik

Eun-shim Lee

Maid

Jeung-nyeo Ju

Dongsik's Wife

Ahn Sung-ki

Dongsik's Son

Eom Aeng-ran

Jo Kyunghee

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Synopsis

Piano composer Dong-sik (Eun-shim Lee) and his pregnant wife (Jeung-nyeo Ju) need extra help around the house, so they hire a housemaid (Kim Jin-kyu), whose precociousness soon gives way to troubling behavior. Tensions between her and Dong-sik lead to an affair, and while the pregnancy ends in a miscarriage, it also results in the maid becoming obsessed with killing the entire family, starting with their older son. Soon their comfortable home becomes a physical and psychological battleground.

Director: Kim Ki-young
Screenwriter: Kim Ki-young
Production Co: Hanguk Munye Yeonghwa, Kim Ki-Young Production
Genre: Horror
Original Language: Korean
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 17, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $148.5K
Runtime: 1h 30m

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