When
watching The Guardian it might seem like a very odd film for William Friedkin
to direct (like John Frankenheimers masterpiece, The Prophecy), but Friedkin
came in when Sam Raimi had to bow out and direct Darkman instead and it still
in many way feels like an eighties Raimi-film, but on the border to the slicker
and more expensive horrors of the nineties. I've seen The Guardian a couple of
times over the years and I'm starting to LOVE this film. Happy for me - and for
many others - is that it just been released on DVD in Sweden
A young
successful couple has gotten their first child and moves to a new house in LA
to start a new life and get rich. They have some problem finding a good nanny,
but when their first choice dies in a bicycle accident the one after fits even
better! She seem to get instant contact with the little boy... but soon they
realize that she's not who she claims to be. Instead of a normal nanny she's a
killer, a woman who worships a tree-demon out in the forest behind the house
and now she wants their little boy for yet another sacrifice!
A
killer-tree. Yeah. And one big scene with a chainsaw. This could have been a perfect
project for Sam Raimi, but I wonder... I wonder if this movie didn't turned out
better with a master like Friedkin behind the wheels. It has a certain degree
of silliness, but the violence (which is very blood and graphic, nice gore!)
and general nastiness of the story is something Raimi never would touch. This
is a crazy motherfucking killer-tree movie for a mature gore-seeking audience,
with lots of nudity and a very nice and subtle reference to Day of the
Triffids.
The story
is simple and pacing fast. Not much time is spent on building up an atmosphere
in the classical sense. It just happens and it happens in the hands of a
master. Friedkin knows what he's doing and he understands that a movie about a
nanny worshipping a demon-tree needs entertainment, it needs the gore and
nudity to - actually - be taken seriously. A brooding tension wouldn't work
with such an absurd premise. It might sound like the movie is very silly now,
but it isn't. Believe me. It's an effective horror story, but it stays away
from being low-key. And we should be grateful for that. That first scene when
the tree is killing of three thugs is one of a kind, with over-the-top gore
worthy of the early eighties.
What do we
get? A crushed head, some ripped of limps, a some wonderful impalings, nasty dog
bites, chainsaw action... this movie has everything a simple, acne-infested gore
hound would like to have. Damn, I love this movie so fucking much even as the
grown man I am - with apartment, cat,
partner and vacations in Thailand.
This is
also one of the last times I've seen a real, actual, baby involved so much in
the action. The handling of the child can probably provoke certain sensitive (=
wimps) in the audience, but everything looks safe and it's just the magic of
editing who works extra good.
The
Guardian is a very underrated movie by William Friedkin and if you've been
avoiding it because you have thought it would be bloodless and boring - don't
listen to those inner voices and trust me. This is fun Fun FUN and even more
fun!
5 comments:
I think it is underrated too.
It's concept of the tree in the movie is very different and cool.
I hope people really take the time to watch this.
"(like John Frankenheimers masterpiece, The Prophecy),"
Hey...Ninja....how about The Challenge (1982)..?
"This is a crazy motherfucking killer-tree movie for a mature gore-seeking audience, with lots of nudity"
Yeah...some cool druid worshipping girl....as you said very underrated movie...has some good animatronics also.
But I wonder if Friedkin should have gone in the same direction as Romero did in Hungry Wives (1972)..?
Still....and entertaining horror....watch Mandrake (2010) from syfy channel...another treedemon!
Megatron
I LOVE Friedkin, but I haven't seen this one yet because I remember the director himself wasn't too fond of it.
But now I take your review as a nice kick in my decent ass to get me moving and grab a copy.
Dang, I've not seen this one since I was ten years old or thereabouts. I remember my ma was pretty dubious about taping it for me ( 15 odd years on she remains the only family member who can operate the VCR) because she thought I'd be scared by the whole evil nanny thing, but I assured her it would be more about an evil tree than an evil nanny. I oughta see if I still have the tape actually, I remember it being a lot of fun in a bizarre and dysfunctional kind of way.
It's a fun movie boys, and yeah - it's dysfunctional! :D But I like the gore and the absurd story. I miss stuff like that in big mainstream movies!
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