NANNY (2022) Reviews of supernatural horror – now with first trailer

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Nanny has been acquired by Blumhouse for streaming on Amazon.

Deadline reported that “In a competitive situation, which also included SPC and Neon, Prime Video ultimately won out thanks to a deal in the $7M range.”

They added, “Jason Blum saw the movie and instantly fell for it so wanted to include it as part of the company’s Amazon deal. There is also a theatrical commitment, we understand.”

In an official statement, Blum said: “We’re proud to have writer/director Nikyatu Jusu’s Nanny as part of our slate for Amazon. It’s a gem of a horror film that combines impressive filmmaking and powerful storytelling, and is worthy of the Grand Jury Prize it was awarded at Sundance.”

In her own statement, Jusu added: “Knowing my first feature, Nanny, is now among a roster of provocative and iconic work at Amazon is rewarding. Coupled with Blumhouse’s recognizability in the world of genre, horror specifically, I’m excited to be in the warm embrace of a team at the intersection of bold content and indie filmmaking sensibilities. My hope is that this acquisition stands as a testament to their continued bravery in ushering in unique voices.”

Deadline also reported: “Off the back of Nanny, Jusu’s next project is already set up with Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw and Universal.”

Meanwhile, here’s our previous coverage of Nanny:

Nanny is a 2022 American horror film about a young woman from West Africa whose life is threatened by supernatural forces beyond her control.

Written and directed by Sierra Leonean-American filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu, making her feature directorial debut, the Stay Gold Features and Topic Studios production is produced by Nikkia Moulterie (Random Acts of Flyness) and Daniela Taplin Lundberg (Harriet; Honey Boy).

Plot:
Aisha is an undocumented nanny caring for a privileged child on the Upper East Side of New York City. As she prepares for the arrival of the son she left behind in West Africa, a violent supernatural presence invades her reality, threatening the American Dream she’s painstakingly pieced together…

Reviews:
Nanny juggles a lot of concepts. Past, present, future, language, culture and horror together in a story about what happens when you don’t heed warnings. While it doesn’t address everything in a seamless way, the message is loud and clear. Jusu has a style that is unique, and her debut film shows the director has a promising future in Hollywood and the horror genre.” Deadline

“With unconventional horror beats, a standout lead performance, and moments of profound insights, the kind too often left unexplored, Nanny is a knockout. Familiar beats and some tepidly conceived supporting players constrain its true potential. But as a debut feature, Nanny is destined to enchant.” Dread Central

” …a film that teems with tremendously promising parts that manage to hold your attention for much of the film’s 97 minutes – but Nanny, as a whole, packs a rather toothless punch. It feels loosely assembled – chock-full of original ideas, intriguing imagery and plot devices, many of which either oddly wind up as loose ends or get resolved in a hurry.” The Guardian

Nanny is a truly special first film by a gifted writer and director Nikyatu Jusu who has assembled a first-class horror film with so many artful touches. It balances the horror and beauty so well. Make no mistake, it contains truly terrifying horror and will gut-punch you. It has proved once again, that horror films can do both.” Nightmarish Conjurings

“The dramatic half of Nanny works better than the genre one as Jusu draws natural performances from her cast, especially Diop and Walls, who have remarkable chemistry. As the requirements of the supernatural half of the story start to weigh on the film, it becomes less effective tonally, but Diop is up to every challenge this complex project presents her…” RogerEbert.com

Nanny suggests a globalized network of familial detachment, with each rung of society passing off the duties of raising their children to their social inferiors […] When it flirts with horror, the film is on less steady ground. The inclusion of figures derived from African folklore, such as Anansi the spider and the mermaid spirit Mami Wata, provide a unique ethnographic perspective on horror.” Slant

“Horrors come from every angle, not just the supernatural and it’s knowing how easily things can be thrown off-balance that threatens Aisha daily. The film’s conclusion puts a fine point on a harrowing journey, emphasizing that both Jusu and Diop are a force to be reckoned with. For every minor quibble with Nanny there are a million reasons to fall down its rabbit hole of an experience and its unparalleled vision is the greatest reason of them all.” Tilt

“Jusu meticulously calibrates the interactions between her characters, revealing a nuanced understanding of race and class relations. No wonder Aisha imagines herself drowning on multiple occasions in the film: Her disillusionment with everything America represented for her is overwhelming.” Variety

Background:
Writer-director Nikyatu Jusu commented: “Nanny is my attempt to make sense of the displacement, the nostalgia immigrant women carry as they forge inexorably new lives in America. Our mothers sacrificed so much in order for us to essentially create ourselves, and though the real-life horror of that sacrifice manifests in the form of living breathing monsters in Nanny, my goal is for audiences to leave our film with a sense of hopefulness.

Women like my protagonist Aisha, my mother and perhaps your mothers, refused to succumb to a society never intended for their success but rather empowered themselves with a narrative of survival that equipped them to thrive, to fly, to survive.”

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