The Guardian [DVD]

I originally saw The Guardian during its cinematic release in 1990 (or so) it was and probably still is somewhat derided as to its quality but I've always really liked the quirkyness of it.The sumptuous Jenny Seagrove plays 'Camilla' a nanny come evil baby sacrificing guardian tree spirit moving from placement to placement practising her unorthodox approach to childcare whereupon she arrives at the home of a young couple with their newly born son Jake.There are some nice touches throughout the film; the idea in itself is very novel, good use is made of a particularly imposing tree out in the woods that Camilla is the guardian of; there are some good slaying scenes involving said tree as well as a pack of wolves and by horror standards it is just fundamentally a fun experience to watch.Saying that the production issues surrounding the film are evident; some of the lighting I've always thought wasn't quite right leading some woodland set scenes to look too much like a studio set. All the performances are fine and the contemporary Grimm fairy tale imagery that Friedkin was attempting to create works really well.The only extras on this special edition are 3 relatively short interviews (between 15-20 mins) with, individually, William Friedkin, Jenny Seagrove and co-writer Stephen Volk.The anecdotes provided are interesting. Friedkin relays a bad experience he had with a nanny and discusses 'The Exorcist' also as well as his aims, problems etc with the script of The Guardian. Interesting stuff.Jenny Seagrove does not appear over enamoured with the film, despite endeavouring to be diplomatic she comes across as a bit critical of it and refers to her participation as a 'mistake' although as she admits she is no horror fan anyway. She seems a bit regretful that they didn't ditch the supernatural element and go with the straightforward evil nanny approach, even contacting an exec at Universal studios to pitch this idea and later lambasting him after 'The Hand that Rocks the Cradle' came out and was a hit a few years later. This is much better Jenny and you were great. Box office success is no indicator of taste!The final interview with co-writer Stephen Volk is also very illuminating and highlights the problematic puppy that The Guardian was. During the writing process Volk did discuss with Friedkin whether they also should ditch the supernatural element and go with the psychological approach instead. Friedkin apparently agreed but Universal refused saying they wanted Friedkin of Exorcist fame to roll out another horror. Volk had to leave due to other committments and also to receive therapy whereby he discusses for months after how he had recurring nightmares of Friedkin flying over his house (in the UK) by helicopter speaking to him from a megaphone telling him to go back to Hollywood and finish the writing process!It's really nice to see it again; 5 stars is a very personal appraisal but the fact that it has stood the test of time really well suggests its a better film than many of those associated with it felt post production.

Although most other reviewers have also given a plot summary/rundown, I will also contribute briefly. The film starts with a family leaving their two children in the care of their nanny, while they go off for an evening (or a weekend, I can't recall which). The woman forgets something, so they return home only to find the baby has been kidnapped by the nanny and has been sacrificed to a tree god/deity.The film then moves forward a few months in time to a yuppie couple who have a child (we follow the pregnancy ever so briefly) and interview various nannies. They have to decide between two nannies and the one they favour (Theresa Randle) dies mysteriously in a bicycle accident. It is implied it was caused by the Nanny Guardian of the title. The Nanny is hired, appears extraordinary useful and helpful, the designer of the house (and now an apparent good friend of the family) takes a shine to the Nanny in quite a stalkerish way. When he stalks her one night he happens upon her true identity/form with the rubbery-looking tree, Cue lots of blood, violent deaths, some very early 90's ropey special fx (not that I mind those!) and an all round unconvincing story unfolds before your eyes and is over before you know it.The acting was very dodgy, the sets were quite cheap looking and the story was just not that good. I was disappointed, having seen the author of the original story was also co-screenplay writer; I expected a better end result. In all fairness the shoddiness may be partly down to the studio, as the film feels like it has been badly edited/cut, with alot of scenes making zero sense or feeling particularly rushed. The atmosphere and a different sort of horror story are really the only two things going for it. I have a real appreciation for older horror films and in particular those from the early 80's to early 90's. This film was just a major let down after having read all the praise on here. The whole assault of the Nanny by the 3 thugs was really poorly acted to the point you felt like you were watching some really bad amateur dramatics effort. Also the guy who stumbles upon the Nanny's true nature was more like a serial stalker/killer than any other character in the film. He was more or less hounding Camilla (the Nanny).All in I'm very disappointed I wasted my time and money on this film. Although not one of the worst films I've ever seen, it is certainly right there on that list. I can't understand the other rave reviews on this film other than it is due to the involvement of William Friedkin (who incidentally disowned the film) who directed one of the all-time horror movie greats, The Exorcist. That aside the acting, special fx, editing, production and story are all woeful. I usually always bother with the special features on a DVD, but just ignored them with this one.Not worth your time.

I already have the original Anchor bay release of this film from 2000which only has an audio commentary track by William friedkan as an extrabut Second sight films a U.K. DVD Distributor finally reissued this filmso I knew I had to buy itand you get all new interviews with Jenny seagrove and also interviews with William friedkanand the writer of the film aswell plus the Audio commentary by William friedkan from the Anchor bay releaseall brand new interviews are very in depth about 15mins longWilliam friedkans is longerthe picture and audio quality on this second sight films version is excellentthe audio is remixed into 5.1 surround sound better than the Anchor bay versionthe picture is really good quality Widescreen better than the Anchor bay versionany fan of this film or William friedkan's movies that have the 2000 Anchor bay version, you might aswell get rid of itcause it's definitely time to upgrade to this all new second sight films reissuebetter picture and audio quality than the Anchor bay release no doubt about it.you won't be disapointed