It’s rare to come across a horror movie that puts a strong and powerful Black woman at the centre, but Amazon Prime Video’s Nanny does just that.
The feature length directorial debut of rising filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu, Nanny follows Aisha (Anna Diop), a young immigrant from Senegal who leaves her son behind while she sets up their new life in the US. To make ends meet, she ends up working as a – yes, you guessed it – nanny for a wealthy white family in New York City.
However, Aisha is haunted by a violent presence that begins to invade both her dreams and reality, and threatens to destroy everything she’s fought for.
Blending West African folklore with real life horror, Nanny is certainly a horror movie that stands apart from the crowd exploring race, social identity and socioeconomic status.
Anna Diop delivers a stunningly nuanced performance as Aisha and it’s a role very close to home for the actress, who immigrated from Senegal to America herself when she was six.
It reminded me of my own mother… and it reminded me of how difficult that was for her. How lonely it was for her and how confusing, and her perseverance and savvy during that time,’ Anna told Metro.co.uk.
She added: ‘When we got to Houston she became a hair braider for many years and ran a daycare out of our home, then went to work for other families, so it just reminded me of all the ways she was always finding ways to survive, make ends meet and hustle.
‘So it brought up all of those experiences that I witnessed my mother going through when we first moved.’
Anna, who has also starred in Jordan Peele’s Us and 24: Legacy, loved sinking her teeth into the layered character of Aisha, who appears calm and level-headed but has no problem in standing up for herself against her employers.
‘What’s interesting about when you witness Aisha becoming bolder and less apologetic, those are also her being imbued with the Mami Wata, these symbols of resistance, rebellion and chaos agents,’ she explained.
‘I love playing that especially when you’re across from really gifted actors.’
Anna added: ‘It’s a really sexy, dangerous thing to be able to play and I love when roles give me the opportunity to do that because I love seeing women in real life do that. I loved seeing my mum stand up for herself and be really strong and dignified in her behaviour so I’ve grown up with that, I’m very familiar with that attitude and I sometimes go into that in my personal life so it’s fun.
‘She’s in a vulnerable position, she’s an immigrant, she’s undocumented and she really needs this job and to still find ways for her to express dignity and power is really fun.’
Anna’s journey was very much inspired by director Nikyatu’s own parents who immigrated from Sierra Leone.
Developing the character of Anna was, of course, a passion project as she revealed the importance of amplifying strong Black women in her art.
‘I’m always trying to create Black female protagonists who have nuance, depth and range and that’s part of my responsibility as a storyteller in this industry who’s been given the privilege to create in this climate because it is a privilege,’ Nikyatu said.
‘It comes organically to me because I know these women, I’m surrounded by these women, these women are my friends, my aunts, so this was really easy for me to portray because these are the women I love.’
Anna was admittedly extremely nervous about taking on the lead role, as she recalled with a laugh: ‘I said to Nikyatu on the first day of filming was the hair braiding scene and we shot the first few takes.
‘I walked up to her and said, “Please don’t let me f**k up your movie”, she said, “ Why would you say that?” I really just wanted to honour this incredible script and filmmaker so for me the most challenging, scariest part was getting myself to feel confident to handle the script and the role.’
Nanny is undoubtedly a gem in a growing number of socially-conscious horror movies and it’s interesting to see the subgenres growing popularity in recent years.
Sharing her theory, Anna said: ‘The individuals in real life that can really know the nature of horror are the most oppressed of us, and the most oppressed of us are women, Black women or immigrant Black women, these are individuals who are being the most marginalised, the most made to feel like the least visible and valued.
‘So when we think about real life, these are the individuals who I think would truly understand the nature of horror more than anyone. So to centre them in these stories makes perfect sense and it’s really exciting for the audience.
‘With Nanny, the true horror for me with Aisha is having to leave her child behind and having to navigate a society and a space that doesn’t value her life and her as a full human being. To me that’s real horror.’
So, does this mean Hollywood’s finally ready to allow strong Black women take the lead in horror?
‘No,’ Nikyatu admitted with a hearty laugh.
‘Hollywood is always scared because a lot of money is on the line. It does feel like a chapter where new voices are being ushered in and I hope it’s sustained and not just a trend for now.
‘It’s one thing to usher people in and another to give them the support they need to thrive in the industry and I hope it’s something that becomes more normalised.’
Nanny will be screening exclusively in cinemas from November 23 and available on Prime Video December 16.