The Guardian is a 1990 American supernatural horror film co-written and directed by William Friedkin, and starring Jenny Seagrove as a mysterious nanny who is hired by new parents, played by Dwier Brown and Carey Lowell, to care for their infant son; the couple soon discover the nanny to be a hamadryad, whose previous clients' children went missing under her care.

[1] Heavily marketed as director Friedkin's first foray into the horror genre since 1973's The Exorcist, the film had a troubled production, with the script undergoing changes that continued well into the shooting process.

One afternoon while Camilla rests in a meadow with Jake, she is approached by three aggressive bikers (Outlaw motorcycle club) who attempt to sexually assault her.

Moments later, Camilla appears, naked and ashen, on the hearth, telling Ned that he should not have followed her before the wolves break into the home, eating him alive.

Kate flees to the couple's Jeep, while Phil runs toward the woods with Jake, as Camilla pursues them both, levitating through the forest, until they reach the large tree.

Simultaneously, Phil manages to fell the tree, but it combusts before landing, as Camilla's body similarly disintegrates before hitting the ground.

Seeing the mess in the house, Phil realizes what happened as he is reunited with his wife and son, now knowing that with Camilla finally dead, his family is now safe.

[5] Volk attempted to rework the script for Friedkin, initially re-writing the character of the nanny as a real-life Lilith, the child-stealing demon from Jewish mythology.

Volk reportedly suffered a nervous breakdown and left the production, leaving Friedkin to finish the script's loose ends after filming had already begun.

[5] In a 2015 interview, Jenny Seagrove recalled visiting Friedkin at his home in Los Angeles, where he told her he had been reading about Druid mythology and wanted to incorporate it into the film.

"[5] Seagrove underwent numerous extensive makeup transformations in the film, at times covered in tree bark during the metamorphosing scenes.

[5] The tree featured in the film was constructed by the special effects department in Burbank, California, and transported to the nature preserve in Valencia.

[2] The television version of the film ends with Phil and Kate returning home from the hospital with Jake, while Camilla is alive and naked at the tree.

[10] Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a middling review, saying "[Friedkin] never sustains the story's tension for very long, and even cuts off the scarier episodes before they have a chance to sink in.

"[11] The Washington Post also gave the film a negative review, stating: "the plot is so preposterous that The Guardian never comes close to grabbing attention, empathy or sympathy.

"[12] David Kehr of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "Like The Exorcist, The Guardian is a horror story set in the bosom of the nuclear family, and it, too, tries to exploit a culturewide fear, turning a shared guilt into monstrous projection.

"[14] Time Out said in their review of the film: "Friedkin opts for up-front hokum, interspersed with impressively ridiculous special effects, including man-eating trees, flying nannies and coniferous chainsaw carnage.

This release has been long out of print and is difficult to obtain, although a UK DVD by Second Sight, also featuring Friedkin's commentary, has subsequently become widely available.