What sets The Housemaid apart from standard noir or melodrama is its atmosphere. Director Kim Ki-young creates a claustrophobic world where the walls seem to close in on the family.

The film introduces us to Dong-sik, a music teacher living a modest but respectable life with his pregnant wife and two children. They live in a traditional Korean house, and while money is tight, they are relatively happy.

However, the factory where Dong-sik works introduces a competition: the employee with the most children wins a new house. Desperate for better living conditions and driven by male vanity, Dong-sik begins an affair with a factory girl. When she falls pregnant, the situation turns dire. To avoid scandal and secure an abortion, the wife hatches a plan: they will hire the girl as a live-in housemaid to control the narrative.