'The Housemaid' movie's plot is not as predictable as you would think! Here's a detailed explanation of the twists leading up to the satisfying ending.
The Housemaid, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, premiered in the U.S. on December 19, 2025, and so far, the reviews are largely positive. The psychological thriller film is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Frieda McFadden. It follows the story of a young woman, ‘Millie’, whose life unravels after she accepts a live-in housemaid job with the wealthy Winchester family. By the time the film reaches its final scenes, nothing and no one is who they first appeared to be (spoiler alert!).
The Housemaid opens like a typical psychological thriller. ‘Millie Calloway’ (Sydney Sweeney) is fresh out of prison and is desperate for stability in life. When she gets offered a live-in housemaid job at the family estate of the wealthy Winchester family, she grabs it, hoping to find salvation and start anew. Little did she know, the house she believed would save her was quietly setting the trap that would change everything.
The family’s matriarch, ‘Nina Winchester’ (Amanda Seyfried), is a volatile woman who never misses a chance to lie, gaslight, and humiliate Millie. Her behaviour grows more erratic with time, and she seems to spiral further each day. Meanwhile, her husband, ‘Andrew’ (Brandon Sklenar), is a calm, gentle force who quietly protects the family.
Since the beginning, the story unfolds in a way that makes viewers believe they know exactly what’s going on. Well, you could not be more wrong!
The climactic moment begins when Millie, predictably, sleeps with Andrew. She can feel things finally falling into place and is smitten by him. For Nina, the affair turns out to be the best thing that has ever happened to her, because she and her daughter are now free to leave the Winchester house, which is no different than a real prison. However, the film’s final act flips the entire story.
Though Nina appeared self-centred and crazy at first, her instability turns out to be a well-calculated act. All her outbursts, lies, and public humiliation were deliberate, designed to push Andrew toward Millie, who is oblivious to his pattern: charm, control, then cruelty.
Yes, Andrew is the true monster. Once Nina leaves, the calm and ever-charming mask drops completely. After Millie accidentally breaks Andrew’s mother’s prized china, he flips and locks her in the house’s attic. That’s when we see that the room has long been used as punishment. What Millie thought was a refuge was nothing more than a facade of bliss hiding the prison within.
As Millie sees Andrew for who he really is, she discovers the tools Nina secretly left behind and uses them to play along just long enough to survive. When Andrew finally opens the attic door, the tables turn; she stabs and locks him inside. But it’s still not the end. Nina returns to the house and, believing Millie is trapped, mistakenly frees Andrew.
What follows is as brutal as it is cathartic. Nina and Millie join hands as they fight the monster back, and Andrew dies after being pushed over the staircase railing. The women agree to cover it up, finally ending his cycle of abuse.
The film closes with Millie interviewing for another housemaid job, and the new employer also has subtle signs of abuse: the house’s matriarch has a large bruise on her wrist. This time, Nina is the one who recommended her. The implication is chilling and clear: Millie has now become a vigilante, a protector for women trapped with dangerous men. The icing on the cake was Taylor Swift’s song, I Did Something Bad, at the end of the film, a fitting choice for the story.
While there has been no announcement just yet, there might be a possibility of a sequel, especially given that McFadden has also made The Housemaid into a three-book series. Have you watched the film yet?
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