The Guardian

Supernatural Horror

Second Sight Films

R2 DVD

In a rather interesting interview in the Extras William Friedkin, the Director, makes the point that his previous highly successful film The Exorcist wasn’t intended to be a horror film. It became classified as horror simply because that’s the effect it had on audiences. The Guardian seems destined to repeat this. It is classic horror in that it relies for impact on lighting, the helplessness of the protagonists in the face of the supernatural; and a steady buildup of tension. The viewer supplements the story by filling in the details from their own feelings and beliefs.

A young couple have a new baby and hire a nanny, Camilla, to look after him while they work. The attractive Camilla seems to be exactly what they need, dedicated to the baby, but she has another agenda. She is a Druid and has a symbiotic relationship with an ancient tree in the nearby forest. In return for personal immortality she supplies the tree with human sacrifices – babies. The need for babies is covered by a throwaway line - …”before their blood changes”. The viewer is left to imagine what that might mean.

It is not too long before the young couple note strange behaviour in the otherwise normal Camilla. She spends a lot of time in the woods with the baby. She won’t allow a doctor to examine him. If she or the baby are threatened a tribe of coyotes will appear and defend them. The tree is capable of defending Camilla and itself too but the worried parents don’t know this – yet..

Finally the husband checks Camilla’s references and is deeply disturbed to find they are all false. One of his friends says his own baby disappeared with their nanny and they now know Camilla has plans for their own child.

Cinematography, effects and acting are all first class. It is a pleasant change to be able to watch a night scene and still see what is going on. Friedkin has used all these to construct an eerie, atmospheric film. The nude and partly nude scenes by Camilla (Jenny Seagrove) are tasteful. She earned the part through acting skill, not nudity. There is a reasonable amount of splatter but it is not used as a substitute for drama. There are enough questions left incompleted for the viewers to use their own imaginations.

Although the film was first released in 1990 it has aged well. Good horror never goes out of fashion, and The Guardian is good horror.

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