The Wicker Man

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. (04/13/2020)

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 small cinematic delicacy that was completely overlooked at the time of its release and was not discovered and praised by film critics until much later. The story of a policeman who travels to an island near England in search of a missing girl and is confronted with the pagan customs of the local folk engulfs the viewer with a unique atmosphere and impressive music. It plays a really big role here and the whole film is interspersed with musical and dance interludes that do not slow down the plot, but on the contrary add to its impact. Genre-wise, the film is classified as horror (some critics even call it the Citizen Kane of horror films), but it feels more like a detective story and the horror classification is fulfilled only by the slightly shocking ending, which puts it in the same line as Shyamalan's films in terms of surprise. We can only regret that the director was not very diligent creatively in later years. (10/17/2004)