Nanny

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

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

The basic elements of Nanny have a lot of promise, but they’re not woven together very convincingly. Most of the tension arises from the portrayal of a very mundane nightmare.

Nanny is a sensational directorial debut and one of the best horror films of 2022.

The last act doesn’t quite live up to the status of future classic that the best of the movie promises, but still: Jusu is a serious talent with a sharp eye for things gone wrong.

A singular vision that, even when its focus drifts, provides one woman’s worldview all the dignity it deserves — amid dementia she surely does not.

The overall effect is more disquieting than frightening.

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



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.

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