The Housemaid

There’s nothing neat and tidy about The Housemaid, which unspools its lurid twists with a wink and a sledgehammer.

However, as dynamics shift and loyalties waver during the volatile power struggle this slick and stylish throwback thriller from director Paul Feig (A Simple Favor), moviegoers are being manipulated most of all.

Masquerading as melodrama, the film’s campy amusement starts to wear off as the plotting becomes progressively more arbitrary and absurd.

Seeking a fresh start after a series of personal and professional setbacks, Millie (Sydney Sweeney) anxiously accepts the role of live-in housemaid for affluent suburbanite Nina (Amanda Seyfried) with few questions asked.

Millie’s circumstances cause her to ignore the obvious red flags about her new employer, who’s quickly revealed as a mentally unstable trainwreck seeking a scapegoat for her erratic behavior and potentially dangerous threats.

Desperate to avoid quitting, she finds reassurance in Nina’s husband (Brandon Sklenar), who’s forced to play referee when things get contentious. “You’re not gonna lose your job,” he explains to Millie. “Everything is gonna be OK. I promise you.”

Of course, there wouldn’t be much of a movie if he was right. Millie is lured into a seductive and scandalous family history that leaves her both vulnerable and empowered.

Clues are dispensed at convenient intervals regarding the troubled backgrounds of both women. Yet amid all the backstabbing and betrayal, what are their motives and endgames?

The shallow screenplay by Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Keeping Hours) — adapted from Freida McFadden’s beach-read novel — doesn’t provide sufficient emotional incentive to care about the answer.

Despite some intriguing dynamics, none of these abrasive and deceitful schemers is deserving of the slightest sympathy. They’re rather unpleasant company, even as the lines start to blur between victims and oppressors.

By contrast, the lavish and immaculately decorated home is perhaps more compelling, with an ornate spiral staircase that you just know will become a focal point from its first appearance.

While awaiting an inevitably shocking conclusion, the film becomes more ridiculous as it goes along, which might be part of the appeal for some.

Indeed, by the end, it’s a different type of movie that even sets the table for a potential sequel. It turns out the characters are smarter and more resourceful than they first appear, although the same can’t be said of The Housemaid, which is just messy.

Rated R, 131 minutes.