The Guardian
United International Pictures (UIP) | Release Date: April 27, 1990 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
35
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
10
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
It's not a nice movie; like The Exorcist, it is ugly, cynical, and mean-spirited. Yet it's also rendered with the same gripping, unholy conviction that has been Friedkin's "saving grace" throughout his career. Read full review
50
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
A severely flawed but not unamusing venture from a director who should know better. Read full review
50
The Seattle TimesJohn Hartl
As recent horror movies go, The Guardian isn't terrible - it's more suspenseful and coherent than Nightbreed or Leatherface, and Friedkin's flair for the genre does surface here and there. But it's hard to care about the outcome when the people are such sticks. [27 Apr 1990, p.20]
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Pollack
The Nanny is special effects at their most vulgar, with a thin, silly plot line that is there only to give the special-effects folks a place to start. [30 Apr 1990, p.5D]
40
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
A confused horror film custom-designed for those who prefer their scares set in a clean, comfortable, architecturally correct atmosphere, rather than the usual Gothic settings. Read full review
40
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Who knows what possessed director William Friedkin to straight-facedly tell this absurd 'tree bites man' tale, but it's an impulse he should have exorcised. Read full review
40
CineVueCleaver Patterson
The problem with The Guardian is that though all the ingredients are there, they fail to come together in the final mix. Read full review
40
The DissolveNoel Murray
Any straight-to-video horror hack could’ve made The Guardian, which has almost no energy until its last 15 minutes, and never exhibits the command of visual storytelling that should be expected from the director of The French Connection and Sorcerer. Read full review
40
EmpireKim Newman
Predictable and flat, the sort of cop-out horror movie which relies on sending up long-outdated female stereotypes of the matron vs the siren. Nothing particularly refreshing or even frightening resides within. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesPeter Rainer
William Friedkin's shocker is supposed to be primally terrifying, but primally silly is more like it. [27 Apr 1990, p.F4]
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