Still, this is a rich and thought-provoking film with a lot of tension carried largely by Diop’s generous and layered performance.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 11, 2024

Nikyatu Jusu deconstructs the American Dream with a singular, unnerving vision in Nanny, a film of unforgettable visuals and a raging underbelly.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 13, 2024

In spite of its conclusion, it’s a promising start to Nikyatu Jusu’s career.

| Jul 15, 2024

The use of horror in this film to convey internal pain and conflict is a beautiful strategy that Nikyatu Jusu executes damn near perfectly.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 15, 2024

When the monstrosity of motherhood in horror is discussed, Nanny is an integral and important addition to the conversation among titles such as The Babadook (2014), Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and Hereditary (2018).

| Jul 9, 2024

This postmodern reprise of Ousmane Sembène’s “Black Girl” (1966) almost earns a pat, happy ending. The entire cast delivers textured, three-dimensional performances and Jusu weaves in provocative themes of exploitation, microaggression and mental illness.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 8, 2024

The overall effect is more disquieting than frightening.

| Oct 26, 2023

By using layered storytelling and mystical visuals, Nikyatu Jusu blends horror and social issues to reimagine the American dream.

| Jul 25, 2023

At the end of the day, Nikyatu Jusu shows tremendous skill and braveness by tackling one of the most demanding filmmaking tasks one could possibly confront, while carrying her own unique voice along the way.

| Original Score: B- | Jul 23, 2023

It's a reminder to me of how African filmmaking has the most trenchant social commentary I've seen from anywhere in the world.

| Apr 21, 2023

Director Nikyatu Jusu’s haunting tale of immigrant sacrifice engulfs and beguiles.

| Mar 16, 2023

Anna Diop stars as a nanny in this Sundance award-winning horror thriller, blending supernatural elements with race and class tensions in a Manhattan household.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 20, 2023

Jusu establishes Nanny’s premise fairly early and subsequently spends most of her time laying out the devastating toll...

| Feb 16, 2023

This film is both too positive and not horrible enough for most fans of horror movies, but that is precisely why I like it so much. Instead, it is subtle, iconoclastic and exquisitely crafted.

| Original Score: A | Jan 27, 2023

Capitalism, hierarchy and racism make love unendurable. But love can also be a kind of resistance. The Nanny knows both that water drowns and that you can’t live without it.

| Jan 23, 2023

Jusu intricately weaved a tale that may be similar to other films, but not in its main character or her culture’s beliefs in mythical creatures being a significant component of Jusu’s storytelling.

| Original Score: B | Jan 14, 2023

An eerie, dreamlike drama of cultural displacement, class exploitation, and mythic surrealism...

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 6, 2023

...communicates in the most visceral possible way what it means for a young mother to leave her son behind and come to America to work so she can make enough money to bring him over to join her.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jan 2, 2023

Nanny rejects jump scares in favour of a uncomfortably tense atmosphere, one that slowly escalates and is reinforced by a powerfully distinctive visual style. Motherhood, exploitation and privilege are explored in an impressively confident first feature.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 2, 2023

The Nanny is very grounded in its approach to mental health and awareness. Where even when the add in African folklore & connection, this at its core is about how deal with trauma & how to overcome it for our future legacy

| Original Score: 8.5/10 | Dec 29, 2022