The Guardian
Screenplay by Stephen Volk and Dan Greenburg and William Friedkin, based on the novel "The Nanny" by Dan Greenburg
(1990)
(1990)
Find a copy of The Guardian Special Edition on DVD (Second Sight)
Special Features: "Return to the Genre" An interview with Wiliam Friedkin / "The Nanny" An interview with actor Jenny Seagrove / "Don't Go Into the Woods" An interview with co-writer Stephen Volk.
Find The Guardian on Blu Ray
In his first return to horror, William Friedkin, Oscar-winning director of "The Exorcist" delivers a new kind of fairy tale for adults. When a wealthy young couple in Los Angeles hires a beautiful nanny for their newborn baby, the cradle will rock with a secret of unspeakable horror.
Special Features: "Return to the Genre" An interview with Wiliam Friedkin / "The Nanny" An interview with actor Jenny Seagrove / "Don't Go Into the Woods" An interview with co-writer Stephen Volk.
Find The Guardian on Blu Ray
In his first return to horror, William Friedkin, Oscar-winning director of "The Exorcist" delivers a new kind of fairy tale for adults. When a wealthy young couple in Los Angeles hires a beautiful nanny for their newborn baby, the cradle will rock with a secret of unspeakable horror.
"For the first time in horror film history, a chain saw is used against its intended target -- a tree" Roger Ebert
"It's hard to take a movie about an evil tree seriously -- plenty of bark, then, but not much bite" SFX magazine
"Teaming up with Stephen Volk as writer, Friedkin again gives us a no nonsense smack in the face horror movie with a savage edge" Cinemaroll
"(In) a tale fuelled by yuppie paranoia, Friedkin still pulls off some strong and spooky moments... Despite being in the long shadow of his masterpiece, perhaps even because of it, The Guardian is still worth a look" Fortean Times
"Even horror fans found it hard to embrace" Mark Kermode
"Producer Joe Wizan called on another rising star, British screenwriter Stephen Volk, himself coming off a pair of strange works in Ken Russell's Gothic and the similarly female-monster driven Canadian thriller The Kiss to rewrite the script, and with (Sam) Raimi's input the pair fashioned what was to be a deliberately arch, body-count rich, blackly comic horror film... The Guardian is a truly fascinating misfire that isn't really a misfire at all. Rather it hits a target that's not even on the range. It's bizarre, beautiful, both lavish and cheap, controlled and reckless, erotic and ridiculous, character driven and awash in tarty special FX... The Guardian is flawed, but so is the best of Friedkin. Those flaws are what some thoughtful critics might call evidence of his humanity, the mark of a flesh and blood auteur reaching through the slick veneer of a studio-produced entertainment and making a beautiful mess of things" Chris Alexander, Shock Till You Drop (December 2015)
"Even a seeming misstep such as The Guardian (1990) - mercilessly derided in its day and omitted altogether from Friedkin's memoir - is worth revisiting as a smart precursor to the current folk/eco-horror revival" - Adrian Martin, Sight & Sound (Nov 2023)
"It's hard to take a movie about an evil tree seriously -- plenty of bark, then, but not much bite" SFX magazine
"Teaming up with Stephen Volk as writer, Friedkin again gives us a no nonsense smack in the face horror movie with a savage edge" Cinemaroll
"(In) a tale fuelled by yuppie paranoia, Friedkin still pulls off some strong and spooky moments... Despite being in the long shadow of his masterpiece, perhaps even because of it, The Guardian is still worth a look" Fortean Times
"Even horror fans found it hard to embrace" Mark Kermode
"Producer Joe Wizan called on another rising star, British screenwriter Stephen Volk, himself coming off a pair of strange works in Ken Russell's Gothic and the similarly female-monster driven Canadian thriller The Kiss to rewrite the script, and with (Sam) Raimi's input the pair fashioned what was to be a deliberately arch, body-count rich, blackly comic horror film... The Guardian is a truly fascinating misfire that isn't really a misfire at all. Rather it hits a target that's not even on the range. It's bizarre, beautiful, both lavish and cheap, controlled and reckless, erotic and ridiculous, character driven and awash in tarty special FX... The Guardian is flawed, but so is the best of Friedkin. Those flaws are what some thoughtful critics might call evidence of his humanity, the mark of a flesh and blood auteur reaching through the slick veneer of a studio-produced entertainment and making a beautiful mess of things" Chris Alexander, Shock Till You Drop (December 2015)
"Even a seeming misstep such as The Guardian (1990) - mercilessly derided in its day and omitted altogether from Friedkin's memoir - is worth revisiting as a smart precursor to the current folk/eco-horror revival" - Adrian Martin, Sight & Sound (Nov 2023)
Director: William Friedkin
Producer: Joe Wizan
Director of photography: John Alonzo
Executive Producer: David Salven
Co-producers: Todd Black, Mickey Borofsky, Dan Greenburg
Universal Pictures/A Joe Wizan Production (1990, USA)
Carmilla..........................Jenny Seagrove
Phil..................................Dwier Brown
Kate.................................Carey Lowell
Ned Runcie.....................Brad Hall
Ralph Hess.....................Miguel Ferrer
Gail Krasno.....................Pamela Brull
Molly Sheridan................Natalia Nogulich
Xander Berkeley..............Detective
Read the Classic-Horror.com review.
Read the article about William Friedkin's The Guardian (Entitled: "Special Tree-Worshipping Baby-Killing Druid Edition") in Frustrating Filmographies. (Full of erroneous assumptions, but still worth a read!)
Producer: Joe Wizan
Director of photography: John Alonzo
Executive Producer: David Salven
Co-producers: Todd Black, Mickey Borofsky, Dan Greenburg
Universal Pictures/A Joe Wizan Production (1990, USA)
Carmilla..........................Jenny Seagrove
Phil..................................Dwier Brown
Kate.................................Carey Lowell
Ned Runcie.....................Brad Hall
Ralph Hess.....................Miguel Ferrer
Gail Krasno.....................Pamela Brull
Molly Sheridan................Natalia Nogulich
Xander Berkeley..............Detective
Read the Classic-Horror.com review.
Read the article about William Friedkin's The Guardian (Entitled: "Special Tree-Worshipping Baby-Killing Druid Edition") in Frustrating Filmographies. (Full of erroneous assumptions, but still worth a read!)
Read a story from me (slightly embellished!) about the writing of this film, on the Shadowplay blog Madder II: Madder Bastard.
