The Guardian (1990) [Blu-Ray]

Director: William Friedkin

Cast: Jenny Seagrove, Dwier Brown, Carey Lowell

Release Date: Now Available on Blu-ray

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

In his first horror film since The Exorcist, Oscar-winning director William Friedkin spins a terrifying tale based on every parent’s worst fear. Jenny Seagrove portrays the enchanting guardian who enters the home of new parents Phil(Dwier Brown)and Kate (Carey Lowell) possessing impeccable references and an affinity for children. But as her true intentions are revealed, the battle for the child’s soul begins in this chilling film based on Dan Greenburg’s popular novel, The Nanny.

Marking notable director William Friedkin’s first horror film since ‘The Exorcist’, ‘The Guardian’ is a bloody, frightening and equally gorgeous dark fairy tale for adults in the tradition of the Brothers Grimm stories of old. Following a young couple newly settled into their new home, after giving birth to their newborn child they cannot believe their luck when against all odds they acquire the most amazing nanny to assist in raising the child, so remarkable that she almost seems too good to be true. Unfortunately for this young couple that happens to be the case, as their new nanny and houseguest has her own terrible plans for the couple’s newborn child.

Expertly guided by director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, Killer Joe) from a script he co-wrote along with Stephen Volk and Dan Greenburg which was based upon Greenberg’s own novel ‘The Nanny’. This classic horror fantasy also features a generally more than competent cast including Jenny Seagrove, Dwier Brown, Carey Lowell, Brad Hall, Miguel Ferrer, Natalija Nogulich and a number more, all of whom delivery fairly solid, if not at the least decent performances in each of their respective roles.

Fans of the early 90’s cult classic ‘The Guardian’ as well as filmmaker Willliam Friedkin’s work in general will definitely want to make certain to pick up a copy of Scream Factory’s new Blu-ray release of ‘The Guardian’ to add to their collections, also marking the first time the film has ever been released on Blu-ray. It delivers fairly impressive high definition video and audio presentations that shouldn’t disappoint the fans in addition to a healthy inclusion of supplemental material including numerous brand new Interviews with the cast and crew recorded specifically for this release among more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below) which will undoubtedly make this a definite must own for many folks.

Overall, fans of Friedkin’s work and ‘The Guardian’ in specific will definitely want to make sure to pick up a copy as I can’t imagine them wanting to miss out on this solid release which also marks the first time ever available on Blu-ray for the film. For those genre fans who may not have yet had the pleasure of the dark fairly tale that is ‘The Guardian’, I would definitely recommend checking it out, it’s a wonderfully creepy and gorgeous film that you won’t want to miss out on, and surely looking and sounding far superior than ever before now available in glorious high definition at last.

VIDEO:

The Blu-Ray release of ‘The Guardian’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty great as a whole, delivering a sharp, detailed video presentation without any notable flaws to be found within aside from minimal amounts of grain and other slight artifacts representative of the source. It holds up impressively even during the fast moving and darkly lit sequences of which there are no shortage of within the film, never resulting in anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a fairly impressive high definition video presentation that should please the majority of fans.

AUDIO:

The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 2.0 Mono DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This lossless mono soundtrack sounds pretty great for what it is, providing a consistently detailed, clean and sharp audio presentation from start to finish. The films wonderful score, along with the creepy effects and other auditory elements share the singular space beautifully, never resulting in any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously with other audio elements to become distorted or rendered inaudible. Overall, this is a solid 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA soundtrack that delivers more than adequately and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Scream Factory’s Blu-Ray release of ‘The Guardian’ includes a number of solid extras. Included on the release are numerous Interviews with members of the cast and crew, a number of which are also brand new interviews recorded specifically for this release. The new Interviews include: ‘A Happy Coincidence: An Interview with Actor Dwier Brown’ (running approximately 22 minutes in length), ‘From Strasberg to The Guardian: An Interview with Actor Gary Swanson’ (approximately 10 minutes), ‘A Mother’s Journey: An Interview with Actress Natalija Nogulich’ (12 minutes), ‘Scoring The Guardian: An Interview with Composer Jack Hues’ (7 minutes), and ‘Tree Woman: The Effects of The Guardian: An Interview with Makeup Effects Artist Matthew Mungle’ (13 minutes). The Archive Interviews also included are: ‘Return to the Genre: An Interview with Director/Co-Writer William Friedkin’ (17 minutes), ‘The Nanny: An Interview with Actress Jenny Seagrove’ (13 minutes), and ‘Don’t Go into the Woods: An Interview with Co-Writer Stephen Volk’ (21 minutes). A ‘Still Gallery’ including behind the scenes photos and the ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (94 seconds) for the film are also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

William Friedkin’s ‘The Guardian’: Now Available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory

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