‘The Housemaid’ universe: Four different films with the same mysterious title

While Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried have become the latest pair to appear in a film called The Housemaid, this is a title which has been used by three other distinct releases in the past.

Curiously enough, every Housemaid film to come before the latest one was an Asian production.

Starting things off with The Housemaid (1960), the original Korean film was re-made into another K-town production of the same name in 2010.

While The Housemaid (2016), a Vietnamese production, was the third film to be released under the same intriguing title.

All of the four films, while skirting around similar genres of horror, mystery, and/or crime, offer highly idiosyncratic experiences.

The Housemaid (1960)

Kim Ki-young’s controversially enticing The Housemaid broke fresh ground for South Korean cinema, going on to become one of the most influential films for the more famous future generation of pioneering filmmakers to come out of the country, including Bong Joon Ho, Park Chan-wook, and more.

Official synopsis: “A composer and his wife are thrown into turmoil when a housemaid becomes more than they bargained for.” (IMDb)

The Housemaid (2010)

Inspired by its predecessor, the 2010 remake by Im Sang-soo reimagined the Housemaid’s story with a darkly comedic spin on it, going on to make Time’s list of “Top 12 Female Revenge Movies”.

Official synopsis: “A man’s affair with his family’s housemaid leads to dark consequences.” (IMDb)

The Housemaid (2016)

The film to come out of Vietnam in 2016 was the first to boast the title of The Housemaid while not being related to any of its precursors — a horror movie, Derek Nguyen’s directorial is set in a haunted French plantation, albeit includes a twisted love triangle like the previous iterations of the same name.

Official synopsis: “When an orphaned Vietnamese girl is hired to be a housemaid at a haunted rubber plantation in 1953 French Indochina, she unexpectedly falls in love with the French landowner and awakens the vengeful ghost of his dead wife... who is out for blood.” (IMDb)

The Housemaid (2025)

The latest Housemaid film is the first of its kind to be based on a literary series of the same name. Adapted from Freida McFadden’s first novel in a three-part saga, the Paul Feig-directed film stars Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried as they take centre stage in the uniquely created psychological thriller.

Official synopsis: “A struggling woman is happy to start over as a housemaid for an affluent, elite couple.” (IMDb)