Friendkin's horror film since the legendary 'The Exorcist' doesn't come close to that one's brilliancy, but it merely stands as an enjoyable waste of time. The Guardian is a rather anonymous horror entry with several macabre fairytale aspects. It's all about an all-American family that faces the ultimate nightmare: the loss of a harmless, innocent infant! A young couple just moved to Southern California when the wife is pregnant. They hire a seemly friendly nanny, but she turns out to be an evil tree-worshiper who sacrifices pure baby blood to an old tree. That is the story, I kid you not. Apparently, Friedkin tried to combine the occult, ancient rites of druids and the typically modern fear for child abuse with his film
He has done more successful and effective things in his career, that's for sure. The climax of this film is extremely violent and blood-soaked. Although, it has to be said that Friendkin still knows how knows how to build up an unbearable tension
Just look at the sequence in which an architect is trapped in his own house, while bloodthirsty coyotes are lurking outside his window.
Review of The Guardian
