The Guardian

Details

Release year: 1990

Storyline

A young couple with a newborn son don't realize that their new nanny is a magical Druid sacrificing infants to an evil tree.

Top credits

Did you know

• Jenny Seagrove was unhappy with the film's constant re-writes, and wanted to make a completely different film. She said to The Guardian in 2007: "It was about this druid nanny who became a tree. I begged Universal to make it about a real nanny who kidnaps babies. 'No, no, we can't do that,' they said, 'the thirty somethings in America won't come and see the film.' I said, 'I think you're completely wrong; this film is total fantasy, and it's just awful.' Two years later The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) was released, so I rang up my friend at Universal and he said, 'Don't. Don't even talk about it, you were right.' "

• One of only two feature films that William Friedkin wrote nothing about, positive or negative, in his memoir The Friedkin Connection (see also Deal of the Century (1983)).

• Was to originally be directed by Sam Raimi, but he left the project early to direct Darkman (1990). Producers brought in William Friedkin, and the project suffered through several re-writes sending co-writer Stephen Volk into a breakdown. Friedkin eventually took over the writing duties.

Box Office

Gross (Domestic): $17,037,887

Opening Weekend (Domestic): $5,565,620 (1990-04-29)

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Technical specs

Sound mix

Dolby SR

Aspect ratio

1.85 : 1

Color

Color