THE GUARDIAN
Universal 1990 Color
92 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Jenny Seagrove, Dwier Brown, Cary Lowell, Brad Hall and Miguel Ferrer star.
Written by Stephen Volk
Directed by William Friedkin
Rated R for strong language, violence, gore, sexuality and nudity.
I remember my Dad taking me to see this film in theaters when I was 11 and of course I loved it automatically. I just happened to revisit it recently and wanted to share my thoughts. This movie rocks!. Yeah there are some cheesy parts sprinkled through out and the concept is way out there but that crazy execution is bat shit and this is a welcome, wholly original spin on the tired cinematic killer Nanny trope.
The film centers on a yuppie couple who hire a new woman who just happens to be a druid "sorceress" of sorts who worships a giant creepy tree in the forest that eats babies... Yes that's what it's about. The film is packed with gory, hella crazy death set pieces and remains oddly immersive throughout as it races towards it's insanely bloody climax. Now some of you will be put off by the strangeness of it all, but try and have an open mind because it's definitely worth the watch.
Besides there have been way stranger movies but most of them don't meld together as well. William Friedkin of Exorcist fame directs the proceedings with a confident zest experimenting with audience expectations and trying some truly unique things. Not all of it is successful, some of the FX don't hold up and there are some questionable choices but the film is gorgeously shot with a trancey score adding to it's dark panache.
So if you're in the mood for something different, something scary and something way out there that delivers the gory goods look no further than 1990's severely under rated horror gem the Guardian. Sure to make you think twice before thinking about hired help. ****.5/5
