The Wicker Man

Horror productions often resemble a merry-go-round, where a successful film is usually the starting point for a whole series of inferior sequels and the genre actually recycles a few successful models. The Wicker Man stands out from the genre's compartments and plays with its viewers, just like it does with its protagonist. Policeman Howie comes to the island to solve the disappearance of a local girl, but from the very beginning, he faces strange reactions from the local population. Common conventions, rules, and laws recognized on the mainland do not apply in this place. A sinister premonition turns into certainty that a terrible crime is imminent, and that turns into a determination to save the victim's endangered life at all costs. The film uses motifs from the horror and thriller genres, but it disregards their traditional props and, in the end, it is closer to a very dark comedy. It overturns traditional Christian morality (from which the gothic novel emerges as a predecessor of modern horror), ridicules it, and gradually leads its principled protagonist into a fateful trap. The Wicker Man is not particularly profound or complicated, but it is surprisingly functional and above all entertaining. Overall impression: 75%. (03/19/2015)

This very unconventional detective story (mistakenly called a horror) is based mainly on the strange mysterious atmosphere of a small British island ruled by pagan customs instead of Christianity. The confrontation between the bigoted policeman and the local natives, who acknowledge an ancient deity, escalates into an exquisite ending, where it is up to each viewer to decide whether they prefer the human sacrifice to the goddess of the earth or the words "The Lord is my shepherd." Edward Woodward excels in the lead role of the strongly religious detective, and like Christopher Lee opposite him, his charisma is evident in every frame. The powerful experience is further enhanced by the strange folk music and dance rituals, which surprisingly do not disturb (and yet this is no musical), but simply belong to the film like everything else. The last ritual gives unpleasant chills. (07/05/2006)

In terms of execution, it's nothing great – often shoddy editing and dull staging of potentially impressive scenes that could have been among the gems of cinema. But maybe that's why Wicker Man impressed me so much. The nagging feeling that I was watching something unconventional, original and distinctive, persisted in me the whole time, culminating in the surprising ending in exactly my favourite cinephilic way. The script is very clever and manages to keep the viewer's curiosity and slight tension, the actors give convincing performances and the Scottish music completes the immersive formal setting. It makes me think that if Kubrick had made something like this, I wouldn’t be able to sleep for a week out of sheer excitement. 75% (09/03/2018)

An atmospheric treat that is really hard to comment on. In any case, The Wicker Man is original through and through, and probably the strangest and most poetic "whodunit" I've ever seen. With the best soundtrack. Genre classification? Who cares! Christopher Lee had me wrapped around his finger once again. (04/24/2013)

A remote Scottish island with dramatic rock formations and windswept vegetation... The atmosphere of the location and the depiction of the cult mentality of its inhabitants make this a unique film, for a near B-movie debut of a director who then gave up on filmmaking. The equivocation of everyone present, the seductive sexual undertone, the helplessness of the main character of the police sergeant whom no one respects, and the almost spectacular sophistication of the people’s strange beliefs and their origins make The Wicker Man an absorbing, plot-driven flick. (04/14/2020)