History Film / TheHandThatRocksTheCradle

* BaitTheDog: Mrs. Mott when she attacks Emma's bully.

* ChekhovsGunman: Solomon.

* DeadpanSnarker: Marlene.

** Later on, she gives two of these to Solomon.
*** The first time happens when he accidentally gets paint on her blouse while shaking her hand, revealing a little bit of her [[BitchInSheepsClothing true colors]]. However, she reverts back to [[FauxAffablyEvil a very friendly persona and tells Solomon "that it was an accident and that anyone can have an accident."]]
*** The second time happens after she slaps him for accidentally witnessing her breastfeed Joey.

* TheFakeCutie: Mrs. Mott.

* FirstLove: Marlene was this to Michael.

* UnwittingPawn: Claire.
* VengefulWidow: Mrs. Mott is grief-stricken over the deaths of her husband and their child, which drives her to seek revenge against Claire for the destruction of her life.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Michael advising Claire to go to the police after being molested by Dr. Mott causes a chain of events that leads to Mrs. Mott infiltrating their home and wreaking havoc.

* IllGirl: Claire suffers from ''severe'' asthma and has repeated attacks throughout the film.

Claire Bartel (Creator/AnnabellaSciorra) is pregnant with her second child. At a routine checkup, Claire is molested by an obstetrician, Dr. Victor Mott (Creator/JohnDeLancie), and after Claire tells her husband Michael (Creator/MattMcCoy), the couple decide to report the incident to the authorities. Four more women come forward to corroborate the Bartels' story, and Dr. Mott commits suicide.

Dr. Mott's pregnant widow (Creator/RebeccaDeMornay) ends up losing their child from the stress of her husband's suicide as well as the ensuing financial fallout. Blaming her for her woes, Mrs. Mott vows revenge against Claire. Six months later, she begins going by the alias "Peyton Flanders," with Claire and Michael hiring her to be their two children's nanny while unaware of her true identity. From that point on, Mrs. Mott covertly works to destroy the Bartel family.

* BrokenBird: Subverted. Mrs. Mott is seen heartbroken and devastated in a hospital after her emergency hysterectomy, but her grief quickly turns her into the AxCrazy "Peyton."

* DestinationDefenestration: How Peyton dies at the end.

* EvilGloating: Mrs. Mott gloats to Solomon after he accidentally witnesses her breastfeeding Joey and does it again to Claire when she seemingly has her at her mercy during an "asthma attack."

* FauxAffablyEvil: While acting as "Peyton Flanders," Mrs. Mott pretends to be a helpful, nice, and considerate woman who has a very understanding and gentle aura to her. In truth, she's sadistic, bitter, and spitefully angry.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: Mrs. Mott transforms from a wealthy obstetrician's wife into a homicidal schemer who calls herself "Peyton Flanders."

* MistakenForPedophile: Solomon falls victim to this thanks to Mrs. Mott's manipulation and planting of "evidence."

** Peyton in her see-through nightgown while getting ice at night and when she tries to seduce Michael into having sex with her while he's grieving for Marlene and worried about Claire. It's helped by the fact she’s portrayed by Rebecca De Mornay.

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Mrs Mott not only lost her husband and her home, but miscarried her unborn baby - and thanks to the resulting hysterectomy, she can’t have another.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Mrs. Mott calls Solomon a "retard."

* AdultFear:
** Your obstetrician—someone you are supposed to be able to have the utmost trust in—could use that trust to violate you when you're at your most vulnerable. It doesn't help knowing that this happens frequently in RealLife. Claire is just flat-out lucky that other women had the nerve to come forward once she did. In so many other instances, they don't... whether out of the typical shame and fear experienced by assault victims or the confusion/uncertainty as to whether or not anything improper really happened.
** A person you trust to take care of your child could secretly be trying to undermine you and your marriage.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thehandthatrocksthecradle.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"[[TitleDrop The hand that rocks the cradle]] is the hand that rules the world."'' ]]

--> "Neither! It's to impale people on, but you don't have to worry about that for at least three pages!"

* OnceIsNotEnough: Averted; when Claire kills Mrs. Mott at the end, she stays that way.

%%* BabysitterFromHell: Mrs. Mott. This film is essentially Babysitter From Hell, the Movie.

* AxCrazy: Mrs. Mott.
* BabysitterFromHell: Mrs. Mott. This film is essentially Babysitter From Hell, the Movie.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Mrs. Mott, naturally.
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Mrs. Mott, Claire, and Marlene.

Claire Bartel (Creator/AnnabellaSciorra) is pregnant with her second child. At a routine checkup, Claire is molested by an obstetrician, Dr. Victor Mott (Creator/JohnDeLancie), and after Claire tells her husband Michael (Matt [=McCoy=]), the couple decide to report the incident to the authorities. Four more women come forward to corroborate the Bartels' story, and Dr. Mott commits suicide.

* BigBad: Mrs. Mott poses as a nanny named Peyton Flanders in order to exact revenge against Claire.

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Inverted with "Peyton," who is a dangerous and unhinged villainess hiding behind a veil of fake niceness.

* LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek: Typical of the genre with a weak and ineffectual heroine suffering from asthma fighting a stronger, prettier, and more cunning villainess who wants to take everything away from her as revenge.
* MamaBear: Claire is this in full force once she discovers who "Peyton" really is. Strangely enough, Mrs. Mott shows signs of this too when she attacks the kid who's been bullying Emma.

* PoliceAreUseless: Despite telling the police that someone may have MURDERED their friend, stalked them, framed another friend, and used a breast pump to feed a kid who isn't hers (which would probably be some form of assault of a minor), the police label it "not an emergency situation" and take their sweet time heading over. It doesn't help that Claire and Michael are stupid enough to deal with the situation on their own and kick Peyton out, when the cops definitely should have been the ones escorting her.
* UsefulNotes/TheOtherRainforest: Takes place in Seattle.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Mrs. Mott calls Solomon a retard.
* PlayingPossum: During the film's final confrontation, Claire fakes an asthma attack to throw Mrs. Mott off guard.

* SurpriseParty: Mrs. Mott planted the idea for throwing such a party in Michael's head, knowing from the beginning that it won't go well thanks to her own machinations.

Claire Bartel (Creator/AnnabellaSciorra) is pregnant with her second child. At a routine checkup, Claire is molested by an obstetrician, Dr. Victor Mott (Creator/JohnDeLancie), and when Claire tells her husband (Matt [=McCoy=]), the couple decide to report the incident to the authorities. Four more women come forward to corroborate the Bartels' story, and Dr. Mott commits suicide.

Dr. Mott's pregnant widow (Creator/RebeccaDeMornay) ends up losing their child from the stress of her husband's suicide as well as the ensuing financial fallout. Blaming Claire's family for her woes, Peyton vows revenge on the Bartels, and sets herself up as a nanny that the family hires, not knowing her true identity. Now calling herself Peyton Flanders, Mrs. Mott works covertly to bring the family down.

!!Contains examples of:

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Of the MisplacedRetribution kind.

* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: The good-looking Motts -- he's a sexually abusive pervert using his position as a obstetrician to molest women, while she's a vengeful madwoman who pretends to be friendly.

* VengefulWidow: Mrs. Mott is grief stricken over the deaths of her husband and their unborn child.

** In one scene, Mrs. Mott is shown to be intending to smother Joey with a pillow, but it's subverted when she decides instead to breastfeed him so that he rejects Claire's breast milk.
** She also manhandles the hell out of a bratty little boy who was bullying Emma... [[BaitTheDog to the sheer delight of the other kids on the playground]].

** In one scene, Mrs. Mott is shown to be intending to smother Joey with a pillow. [[spoiler:Subverted when she decides instead to breastfeed him so that he rejects Claire's breast milk.]]

* DeathOfAChild: Mrs. Mott's baby is unable to survive. Subverted with Claire's baby Joey, whom Mrs. Mott nearly smothers before thinking better of it and instead deciding to take over Claire's life.

* EvilGloating: Mrs. Mott gloats to Solomon after he accidentally witnesses her breastfeeding Joey and does it again to Claire when she seemingly has her at her mercy when she’s having an "asthma attack."

* FirstGirlWins: Averted. During a chat with Mrs. Mott, Claire reveals that Marlene was Michael's FirstLove. Armed with this plus Claire's obvious lingering insecurity, this becomes yet another thing Peyton uses to her advantage.

* FrameUp: Knowing that he's on to her, Mrs. Mott considers it convenient to get rid of Solomon, so she steals the panties of her employer's five-year-old daughter and plants them in his room. With this "evidence" in place, she starts accusing him of pedophilia, and Claire eventually fires him.

** Your doctor, someone you are supposed to be able to have the utmost trust in, could use that trust to violate you when you're at your most vulnerable. It doesn't help knowing that this happens frequently in RealLife. Claire is just flat-out lucky that other women had the nerve to come forward once she did. In so many other instances, they don't... whether out of the typical shame and fear experienced by assault victims or the confusion/uncertainty as to whether or not anything improper really happened.

* PoliceAreUseless: Despite telling the police that someone may have MURDERED their friend, stalked them, framed another friend, and using a breast pump to feed a kid that isn't hers (which would probably be some form of assault of a minor), the police label it "not an emergency situation" and take their sweet time heading over. It doesn't help that Claire and Michael are stupid enough to deal with the situation on their own and kick Peyton out, when the cops definitely should have been the ones escorting her.

* SurpriseParty: Mrs. Mott planted this idea in Michael's head, knowing from the beginning that it won't go well thanks to her own machinations.
* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: The good-looking Motts -- he's a sexually abusive pervert using his position as a physician to molest women, while she's a vengeful madwoman who pretends to be friendly.

* TragicVillain: While Mrs. Mott is a vindictive and homicidal lunatic, one mustn't forget what turned her into such a monster in the first place.

** Mrs. Mott gives one to the attorney who politely tries to help her get out of her seat.
** She later gives this to Solomon twice.

** Peyton in her see-through nightgown while getting ice at night and when she tries to seduce Michael into having sex with her while he’s grieving for Marlene and worried about Claire. It's helped by the fact she’s played by Rebecca De Mornay.
** Marlene is also very dazzling. It's also helped by the fact she's played by Julianne Moore.
* ObliviouslyEvil: The attorney who calmly informs the heavily pregnant Mrs. Mott that the court is taking all of her remaining assets and she’s being kicked out of her own house in light of all the pending lawsuits from her husband’s victims has the audacity to politely offer to help her out of her chair.

* YouHaveNoIdeaWhoYoureDealingWith: Claire warns Michael point blank exactly just how dangerous Mrs. Mott is and he finds out the hard way.

* BrokenBird: Subverted. Mrs. Mott is seen heartbroken and devastated in the hospital after her emergency hysterectomy, but her grief quickly turns her into the AxCrazy "Peyton."

** She later gives one to Solomon when he accidentally gets a little paint on her blouse while shaking her hand, revealing a little bit of her [[BitchInSheepsClothing true colors]], but she then reverts back to [[FauxAffablyEvil a very friendly persona and tells Solomon "that it was an accident and that anyone can have an accident."]]
** She gives another one to Solomon after slapping him for accidentally witnessing breastfeed Joey.

* EvilGloating: Peyton does to Solomon after he accidentally witnesses her breastfeeding Joey and to Claire when she has her at her mercy when she’s having an “asthma attack”.

* FauxAffablyEvil: While acting as "Peyton Flanders," Mrs. Mott pretends to be a helpful, nice, and considerate woman who has a very understanding and gentle aura to her. In truth, she’s a sadistic, bitter and spitefully angry individual.
* FirstGirlWins: Averted. During a chat with Peyton, Claire reveals that Marlene was Michael's FirstLove. Armed with this plus Claire's obvious lingering insecurity, this becomes yet another thing Peyton uses to her advantage.

* GambitRoulette: Mrs. Mott's plot to ruin Claire's life.

** Then Michael picks it up by going downstairs to check on the loud radio music coming from Mrs. Mott's room. '''Run like hell!''' He gets a concussion and both legs broken for his trouble.

* KickTheDog: Mrs. Mott slaps Solomon and calls him "retard", even ''before'' she frames him for molesting Emma.

* MistakenForCheating: Claire discovers Marlene's cigarette lighter in the pocket of Michael's pants, not knowing that Mrs. Mott has planted it there. Between this and the several nights that he has supposedly been working late, she wrongly concludes they've been having an affair and confronts him about it by screaming her head off at him, not knowing that an entire room full of party guests is there to celebrate her birthday--their sneaking around was to plan the event.
* MistakenForPedophile: Solomon thanks to Mrs. Mott's manipulation and outright planting of evidence.
* MsFanservice: Peyton in her see-through nightgown while getting ice at night and when she tries to seduce Michael into having sex with her while he’s grieving for Marlene and worried about Claire.
** It's helped by the fact she’s played by Rebecca [=DeMornay=].
** Marlene is also very dazzling. It’s also helped by the fact she’s played by Julianne Moore.

* SurpriseParty: Planned by Mrs. Mott, it's not surprising that it doesn't go well thanks to her machinations.

* TraumaCongaLine: Mrs. Mott gets this in spades. Within a very short timespan, her husband shoots himself, she is branded the wife of a serial rapist (which she possibly only just found out), has all her assets frozen, gets kicked out of her own home, and suffers a late-term miscarriage that leads to a full hysterectomy. It's little wonder she becomes AxCrazy as soon as she recovers.

Dr. Mott's pregnant widow (Creator/RebeccaDeMornay) ends up losing their child from the stress of her husband's suicide as well as the ensuing financial fallout. Blaming Claire's family for her woes, Peyton vows revenge on the Bartels, and sets herself up as a nanny that the family hires, not knowing her true identity. Now calling herself Peyton Flanders, Mrs. Mott begins working covertly to bring the family down.

* BeautyIsBad: Peyton, ''again''. Despite being very attractive herself, Marlene appears to dislike and distrust her instantly for no other reason than how she looks--and she's not even dressed up at the time!

* CreepyPhysical: Dr. Mott molests Claire during a physical examination, leading her to file charges and kicking off the events of the movie.

** She later gives one to Solomon when he accidentally gets a little paint on her blouse while shaking her hand, revealing a little bit of her [[BitchInSheepsClothing true colors]], but she then reverts back to [[FauxAffablyEvil a very friendly persona and tells Solomon “that it was an accident and that anyone can have an accident.”]]

* DeathOfAChild: Peyton's baby, born premature, and unable to survive. Subverted with Claire's baby Joey, whom Mrs. Mott nearly smothers before thinking better of it and instead deciding to take over Claire's life.
* DirtyCoward: Dr. Mott would rather take his own life than face the consequences of his actions, not even caring what all of this might do to his pregnant wife.
* DisneyVillainDeath: Literally, since this ''is'' in fact a Disney movie (via their Hollywood Pictures division). Downplayed overall since we do see where they land: a picket fence. Noted in ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'''s satire "The Ham That Robs The Cradle"[[hottip:*: ironically, Rebecca [=DeMornay=]'s performance is free of ChewingTheScenery]]:

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Peyton can't go through with her initial plan of murdering Baby Joey.
* EvilDetectingBaby: Inverted. Baby Joey wails when his own mother holds him, but quiets down in Mrs. Mott's arms. Then again, it ''was'' Mrs. Mott's breast milk.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: Mrs. Mott transforms from a wealthy doctor’s wife into a homicidal schemer who calls herself "Peyton Flanders."

Dr. Mott's pregnant widow, Peyton (Creator/RebeccaDeMornay), ends up losing her child from the stress of her husband's suicide as well as the financial fallout. Blaming Claire's family for her woes, Peyton vows revenge on the Bartels, and sets herself up as a nanny that the family hires, not knowing her true identity. Now calling herself Peyton Flanders, Mrs. Mott begins working covertly to bring the family down.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Mrs. Mott learns Claire's identity through a news report. It's not specifically shown that Claire had come forth publicly, and most jurisdictions have regulations against publicly identifying sexual assault victims. Oddly enough, this could have been avoided had the movie established that, being his wife, Mrs. Mott had only heard about Claire from her husband.

* ContrastMontage: Peyton Mott undergoing an emergency hysterectomy while watching her prematurely born baby die is intercut with scenes of pregnant Claire and her family enjoying their day.
* ConvenientMiscarriage: Kicks off Peyton's plot.

* FrameUp: Knowing that he's on to her, Mrs. Mott considers it convenient to get rid of Solomon, so she steals the panties of her employer's five-year-old daughter and plants them in his room. With this "evidence" in place, she starts accusing him of pedophilia. At the end, he goes PapaWolf to protect the baby when Mrs. Mott assaults Claire.
* FreudianExcuse: Peyton wants revenge on Claire because she holds her responsible for ruining her life by reporting her husband to the police, which led to his suicide and subsequent loss of her baby and home.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Mrs. Mott transforms from a wealthy doctor’s wife into a homicidal schemer who calls herself "Peyton."

** In one scene, Mrs. Mott is shown to be intending to smother Joey with a pillow. [[spoiler:Subverted when she decides instead to breastfeed him so that he .]]

''The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'' is a 1992 thriller directed by Creator/CurtisHanson and written by Amanda Silver (''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', ''Film/JurassicWorld''), about a vengeful nanny out to destroy a naïve woman and steal her family.

Claire Bartel (Creator/AnnabellaSciorra) is pregnant with her second child. At a routine checkup, Claire is molested by an obstetrician, Dr. Victor Mott (Creator/JohnDeLancie), and when Claire tells her husband (Matt [=McCoy=]), the couple decide to report the incident to the authorities. Four more women come forward to corroborate the Bartels' story and Dr. Mott commits suicide.

* AdultFear: That your doctor, someone you are supposed to be able to have the utmost trust in, could use that trust to violate you when you're at your most vulnerable. It doesn't help knowing that this happens frequently in RealLife. Claire is just flat-out lucky that other women had the nerve to come forward once she did. In so many other instances they don't, whether out of the typical shame and fear experienced by assault victims or the confusion or uncertainty as to whether or not anything improper really happened.
** Also, that the person you trust to take care of your child could be trying to undermine you and your marriage.
* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Mrs. Mott learns Claire's identity through a news report. It's not specifically shown that Claire had come forth publicly, and most jurisdictions have regulations against publicly identifying sexual assault victims. Oddly enough, this could have been avoided had the movie established that, being his wife, Mrs. Mott had only heard about her through her husband directly.
* AssholeVictim: Besides Peyton, nobody is really going to miss Dr. Mott.
* AxCrazy: Peyton.
* BabysitterFromHell: Peyton. This film is essentially Babysitter From Hell, the Movie.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Peyton, naturally.
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Peyton, Claire, and Marlene.
* BrokenBird: Subverted. Peyton is seen heartbroken and devastated in the hospital after her emergency hysterectomy, but her grief quickly turns her into the AxCrazy Peyton.
* ChekhovsGun: Several. The wind chimes at both houses. The blue turtles on the walls of both nurseries. The baby monitor, which saved the baby. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Mrs. Mott had used it throughout the movie to eavesdrop on the Bartels.]] And Claire's asthma. After repeated attacks throughout the film, she ''fakes'' one in order to throw Mrs. Mott off guard.

* CreepyPhysical: Claire's doctor molests her during a physical examination, leading her to file charges and kicking off the events of the movie.

* DeathGlare: Mrs. Mott gives one to the Attorney who politely tries to help her get out of her seat after virtually destroying her whole life moments before.
** She later gives one to Solomon when he accidentally gets a little paint on her blouse while shaking her hand,[[BitchInSheepsClothing revealing a little bit of her true colors but she then reverts back to a very friendly persona and tells Solomon “that it was an accident and that anyone can have an accident.”]]

* TheFakeCutie: Peyton Mott/Flanders.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Peyton Flanders/Mrs. Mott pretends to be helpful, nice and considerate while also feigning a very understanding and gentle aura. In truth, she’s a sadistic, bitter and spitefully angry individual.
* FirstGirlWins: Averted. During a chat with Peyton, Claire reveals that Marlene was Michael's first love. Armed with this plus Claire's obvious lingering insecurity, this becomes yet another thing Peyton uses to her advantage.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: Mrs. Mott transforms from a wealthy doctor’s trophy wife into the homicidal Peyton.

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Inverted with blonde "Peyton" who is a dangerous and unhinged crazy woman hiding behind a veil of fake niceness.

** Then Michael picks it up by going downstairs to check on the loud radio music coming from Mrs. Mott's room. Run like hell! He gets a concussion and both legs broken for his trouble.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Marlene can be very abrasive and some what condescending but she clearly cares about Michael and Claire and when she discovers that Peyton is actually Dr. Mott’s widow, she drives recklessly through traffic to warn Claire about Peyton and who she really is. [[WoundedGazelleGambit Sadly Peyton tricks her to her death in the greenhouse by using reverse psychology on her.]]

* KindheartedSimpleton: Justified with Solomon who is clearly special needs but has his heart in the right place.
* LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek: Typical of the genre with a weak and ineffectual heroine suffering from asthma fighting a stronger, prettier and more cunning villainess who wants to take everything away from her.
* MamaBear: Claire is this in full force once she discovers what "Peyton" really is. Strangely enough, Mrs. Mott shows signs of this too, when she attacks the kid who's been bullying Emma.
* ManipulativeBastard: Mrs. Mott

* MistakenForCheating: Claire discovers Marlene's cigarette lighter in Michael's pants pocket, not knowing that Mrs. Mott has planted it there. Between this and the several nights that he has supposedly been working late, she deduces that they've been having an affair and confronts him about it by screaming her head off at him, not knowing that an entire room full of party guests is there to celebrate her birthday--their sneaking around was to plan the event.
* MistakenForPedophile: Solomon, thanks to Mrs. Mott's manipulation and outright planting of evidence.
* MsFanservice: Peyton in her see through nightgown while getting ice at night and when she tries to comfort/have sex with Michael when he’s grieving for Marlene and worried about Claire.
** Its helped by the fact she’s played by Rebecca [=DeMornay=].
** Marlene is also very dazzling. It’s also helped too by the fact she’s played by Julianne Moore.
* ObliviouslyEvil: The Attorney who calmly informs the heavily pregnant Mrs. Mott that the court is taking all of her remaining assets and she’s being kicked out of her own house in light of all the pending lawsuits from her husband’s victims has the audacity to politely offer to help her out of her chair.

* PoliceAreUseless: Despite calling the police that someone may have MURDERED their friend, in addition to stalking them, framing another friend, and using a breast pump to feed a kid that isn't hers (which would probably be some form of assault of a minor), the police label it "not an emergency situation" and take their sweet time heading over. It doesn't help that Claire and Michael are stupid enough to deal with the situation on their own and kick Peyton out, when the cops definitely should have been the ones escorting her.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Peyton calls Solomon a retard.
* PlayingPossum: During the film's final confrontation, Claire fakes an asthma attack to throw Mrs. Mott off-guard.

* SecondLove: Claire admits to Mrs. Mott that she is this to Marlene regarding Michael.
* ShowerOfAngst: Claire takes one after her disturbing visit to Dr. Mott
* SurpriseParty: Planned by Mrs. Mott, it's not surprising that it doesn't go well.
* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: The good-looking Motts -- he's a sexually abusive pervert using his position as a physician to molest women, while she's a vengeful madwoman.
* TookALevelInBadass: After seeing her mother being attacked, Emma outsmarts Mrs. Mott and locks her in the nursery, rescuing Joe at the same time. As an added bonus, you can practically feel the intensity with which she yells "YOU'RE NOT MY MOMMY!"
* TragicVillain: Peyton is a vindictive homicidal lunatic, but one mustn't forget what turned her into such a monster.
* TraumaCongaLine: Mrs. Mott gets this in spades. Within a very short timespan her husband shoots himself, she is branded the wife of a serial rapist (which she possibly only just found out), has all her assets frozen, gets kicked out of her own home, and suffers a late term miscarriage that leads to a full hysterectomy. It's little wonder she becomes AxCrazy as soon as she recovers.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Claire’s husband advising her to go to the police after being molested by Dr. Mott causes a disastrous fallout that results in Peyton infiltrating their home and wreaking havoc.

* VengefulWidow: Mrs. Mott is grief stricken over the death of her husband and unborn child.
* VillainProtagonist: Mrs. Mott is arguably the focus of the film, despite being the villain.

** In one scene Mrs. Mott is shown to be intending to smother baby Joe with a pillow. [[spoiler: Subverted when she decides instead to breast-feed him.]]
** She also manhandles the hell out of a bratty little boy who was bullying Emma. To the sheer delight of the other kids on the playground.
* YouHaveNoIdeaWhoYoureDealingWith: Claire warns Michael point blank exactly just how dangerous Mrs. Mott is. And he finds out.

Dr. Mott's pregnant widow, Peyton (Rebecca De Mornay), ends up losing her child from the stress of her husband's suicide as well as the financial fallout. Blaming Claire's family for her woes, Peyton vows revenge on the Bartels, and sets herself up as a nanny that the family hires, not knowing her true identity. Now calling herself Peyton Flanders, Mrs. Mott begins working covertly to bring the family down.

* FreudianExcuse: Peyton wants revenge on Claire because she holds her responsible for ruining her life by reporting her husband to the police, which led to his suicide and consequent loss of her baby and home.