Is Nanny a scary movie? We discuss the Prime Video film and the premise to define its actual genres. This article includes no spoilers.
An original film from Prime Video, Nanny, has hit the streaming platform. The movie is the feature film directorial debut from Nikyatu Jusu that stars Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, and Sinqua Walls. Nanny is labeled as Drama, Horror, and Thriller and the big question is, “is the movie scary?” Below we share some details surrounding the movie, including answering that question.
What is the movie Nanny about?
Nanny follows the story of Aisha, who is trying to jumpstart her life in New York City. Aisha takes a job nannying for an upper-class family. But, while chasing the American Dream, things start to falter cause of some inner demons that Aisha has yet to tackle.
How long is the movie Nanny?
The film has a runtime of one hour and thirty-nine minutes.
Is Nanny a scary movie?
Short answer, no. But, some people would make a case for it to be an existential horror movie that is scary.
The general audience sees the word “horror” and expects to be scared. From jump scares to latching onto their significant other’s hands or alone hiding under the covers, they want to worry about going to sleep at night. You can even look at the IMDb scores of the film that state “not a horror film” and understand just that.
So, no, Nanny isn’t going to be scary in the sense of the typical idea of horror. Although, I will warn you that there are a few jump scares that might make you leap out of your chair.
Now for the existential horror aspect that might be scary within Nanny. But, of course, we all know there are different types of horror films, including ones like Nanny, that tap into the anxieties and fears that we all have. So while Nanny doesn’t have the scary aspects of prototypical horror films, Nikyatu Jusu brilliantly writes this in a way that touches on the fears of immigrants and anyone trying to chase that American Dream. You are witnessing the battle of Aisha, who is trying to establish herself by earning a living while at the same time trying to work through life.
For some viewers, when filmmakers tap into those existential horror elements, they can be scarier than your jump scares or ghosts that might appear, but the one thing they have in common is they can both keep you up late at night.
That said, some viewers don’t like films being labeled the wrong genre because not everyone is looking that deep into a movie. To be honest, I don’t blame them. We all use IMDb for some sort, and sometimes when you see that genre labeling, you base what you are watching that night on that. So, in the case of Nanny and it being called a horror movie, people being upset makes sense. I’ve been saying this for a while, but IMDb should have a “Psychological Horror” label as a genre because that would fit Nanny and many other films much better than just horror.
