Horror films can be inspired by all walks of life. It’s not a genre that is limited to masked men chasing young teens with a knife. Thrills can actually be derived from something as sweet and loving as being a nanny.
READ MORE: ‘Nanny’ Director Nikyatu Jusu On Her Buzzy Supernatural Thriller [Sundance Interview]
As seen in the trailer for “Nanny,” the new horror-thriller tells the story of a young woman, Aisha, who just arrived in the US from Senegal and has found a job as a nanny for a wealthy family. And while everything seems to be going well, Aisha is troubled by haunting visions as she desperately attempts her young son to the US also. The film stars Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls, Morgan Spector, Rose Decker, and Leslie Uggams. “Nanny” is the feature directorial debut for Nikyatu Jusu, who also wrote the script for the thriller.
In our review of the film from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, we said, “There’s always a danger in dinging a film – or a book, or a play – for being what it is, rather than what you think it should be. But ‘Nanny’ feels less like a misfire than a missed opportunity… All things considered, ‘Nanny’ is a pretty good movie. But it feels there’s a great one fighting to break out.”
“Nanny” arrives in theaters on November 23 and on Prime Video on December 16. You can watch the trailer below.
Here’s the synopsis:
In this psychological horror fable of displacement, Aisha (Anna Diop), a woman who recently emigrated from Senegal, is hired to care for the daughter of an affluent couple (Michelle Monaghan and Morgan Spector) living in New York City. Haunted by the absence of the young son she left behind, Aisha hopes her new job will afford her the chance to bring him to the U.S., but becomes increasingly unsettled by the family’s volatile home life. As his arrival approaches, a violent presence begins to invade both her dreams and her reality, threatening the American dream she is painstakingly piecing together.
