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Wicker Man
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by Republic Pictures
Sales Rank: 26652
Price: $9.98
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Typically categorized as a horror film, <I>The Wicker Man</I> is actually a serious and literate thriller about modern paganism, written by Anthony Shaffer (<I>Sleuth</I>) with a deft combination of cool subjectivity and escalating dread. (Despite this promising directorial debut, British filmmaker Robin Hardy didn't make another film until <i>The Fantasist</i>, a little-seen thriller released in 1986.) We're introduced to the friendly but mysterious residents of Summerisle (located off the west coast of Scotland), where the isolated community enacts rituals that seem, at first, to be merely unconventional. When called in to investigate an anonymous tip about a missing child, mainland police sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) is treated as an outsider, and the ominous Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) has the inside advantage. As the repressed policeman is taunted by the island's sensuous atmosphere, his investigation leads to increasingly disturbing implications.<p> With phallic symbols and soothing music at every turn, Summerisle is a pleasant haven for those who perform the pagan rituals of Lord Summerisle's maverick ancestors. These earthy ceremonies are presented with alluring authenticity, and the island's tempting eroticism is fully expressed by the landlord's daughter (Britt Ekland), who fills Howie with barely suppressed carnal desire. (<I>Sirens</I> took a comedic approach to a similar situation in 1994.) And yet the mystery of the missing girl remains, with clues that hint at a darker reality beneath the colorful local customs. When that reality is ultimately discovered, Howie becomes the crucial element in the islanders' most elaborate ritual, which is where the film's title comes into play. It may not be horror, but it is horrific, and this makes <I>The Wicker Man</I> an unforgettable film. <I>--Jeff Shannon</I>
Viewer Reviews
Fete of Death
Not a supernatural horror movie by any means, "The Wicker Man" is instead a creepy, eldritch crime thriller about a priggish Scottish policeman's attempt to rescue a missing girl from an island run by paganists. This morally hidebound cop can't believe what he comes up against when he meets a smirking Christopher Lee sporting a ridiculous fright wig and his grinning pagan acolytes. A staunch believer in Christ, a righteous man, the cop can't believe he can be destroyed by a gang of giggling pagans of all people.
Always smiling and reveling, the giddy paganists also enjoy dancing in the nude, which shocks the uptight cop as well, but their frivolity masks a deeply sinister streak, a streak dripping with menace. These rejects from the sixties' hippie movement turn out to be nine parts Manson family members and only one part flower childeren.
The final scene with the wicker man near the beach at sunset is as shocking and weird as all get-out as well as a visual humdinger.
--Bryan Cassiday, author of "Fete of Death"
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