The Wicker Man ★★★★
WHAT a year for horror 1973 was.
At the same time as William Friedkin’s The Exorcist was unleashed on the public, on the other side of the Atlantic a little film called The Wicker Man also arrived.
While Friedkin’s film was horrifying, Robin Hardy’s supernatural horror was plain wierd.
But the latter has arguably had just as much impact on folk horror film-makers and films over the past 50 years, including recent examples like Alex Garland’s criminally under-seen Men and Ari Aster’s Midsommar.
The Wicker Man set the template for modern horror films that create a tapestry for events in the modern world influenced by ancient pagan rituals.
It’s based on a 1967 novel, Ritual, by David Pinner and adapted by one of Britain’s best screen writers of that period, Anthony Schaffer (Sleuth and Hitchcock’s Frenzy among others).
Classic British actor Edward Woodward plays a policeman sent to a remote Scottish island after receiving an anonymous letter claiming a teenage girl has gone missing.
On arrival on Summersisle, the strait-laced Sergeant Neil Howie, is immediately annoyed by the indifferent welcome he receives and refuses to believe any of the conflicting claims from locals that the girl never existed or has been dead for some time.
Suspicious at every turn, Howie extends his stay wanting to solve the case.
The devout Christian becomes increasingly shocked by practices on the island that suggest a form of Celtic paganism worship.
The behaviour includes the sale of body parts such as foreskins at the local store, sex instruction at the school, using toads to cure sore throats and couples having sex in the open.
At the local pub he discovers a lack of local produce due to a crop failure that year. He then notices photos of the girl as May Queen of the annual harvest celebration.
As Howie delves deeper he is introduced to self-proclaimed community leader Lord Summersisle, played by Christopher Lee, whose ideas and attitude raise suspicions even more.
The investigation eventually leads him to discover a life-threatening secret at the heart of the strange community.
The film is constantly fascinating in not just its wierdness but the attention to every detail of production design in service of the complicated vision.
The commitment of the well-chosen cast, which also includes Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento and Ingrid Pitt, helps maintain the film’s enduring intrigue.
Please don’t confuse this original with the far inferior 2006 remake with Nicholas Cage.
Hardy also made a ‘spiritual’ sequel called The Wicker Tree released in 2011.
if you enjoy the original there are variations, including a director’s cut and a final cut. However, due to the film’s cult status, they will cost you.