BLURAY: THE GUARDIAN

BLURAY: THE GUARDIAN
Shock Entertainment, June 2018
Written by Dan Greenburg, Stephen Volk & William Friedkin
Directed by William Friedkin
Starring Jenny Seagrove, Dwier Brown, Carey Lowell
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
57%

William Friedkin made his mark with The Exorcist, Cruising and To Live & Die In L.A., all gritty, highly original and striking films. He tried to bring the same stylish vision to The Guardian, but here it falls flat, possibly due to a lack of on-screen charisma, or simply being lacking in inspiration.

On paper the film sounds like a winner. Take a loving couple with a young kid, throw in a babysitter who is horror movie creepy, and add some unrequited lust for fun.

But Jenny Seagrave just isn’t convincing as the malelovent wood nymph hell bent of sacrificing baby Jake to her very hungry tree god, and should have stuck to the TV roles she was better known for, and the rest of the cast similarly don’t stand out nearly enough.

It’s not all their fault, though – Friedkin just doesn’t seem to have a firm enough hand on the tiller here. It’s a shame as the storyline – and the monstrous tree with a taste for humans – should have made for a far better end result.

Category: Movie & Theatre Reviews