Hallowe'en is just around the corner, and as such I was fortunate to have been loaned this flick from my good friend Scott (thanks, Scott!). Now, before we get to the guts of this horror classic, you'll probably want to know that this isn't a typical slasher movie. In fact, it isn't a slasher movie at all. It's the kind of creepy feature that works best -- the psychological, weird ones.
On watching The Wicker Man, I realized the 70s were literally the heydays of anti-religion horror movies. After all, The Omen (1976), Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Exorcist (1973) and Carrie (1976) aren't exactly found in the children's section of the video store today. And Mike Myers didn't always connotate a funny guy like he does nowadays. Then again, today's supposedly "scary" movies rely so heavily on effects that it's no wonder the older ones have remained horror benchmarks to this day.
The real strength of The Wicker Man is how it sets the stage for a colossal good versus evil conflict but doesn't force either side to back down from reacting as if they're in the right. It stars Edward Woodward as Sergeant Howie, a thoroughly Christian chap who receives an anonymous letter that a teenage girl has gone missing on a small island simply called Summerisle. When he arrives, no one in the village claims to have heard of the girl, and his mother insists her daughter is actually still in elementary school. Howie soon deduces the entire township practices pagan rituals, including nudity of the masses and possibly a Mayday sacrifice to the gods, of a living person, to help the crops grow again.
The supporting actors here include the 70s vampire king Christopher Lee as the Lord of the Isle, and Britt Ekland as a thoroughly well-endowed tavern-owner's daughter (if you've seen the movie, you'll know how I know this). The screenplay was penned by Anthony Shaffer (who also wrote Whodunnit? YAY!) and it was directed by Robin Hardy.
There are a couple of dynamic scenes, and thank goodness they offset the more nonsensical ones, including any that feature music, songs, or singing of any kind. The excessive promotion of the movie's soundtrack and score are almost enough to knock it offcourse. Thankfully, the script is tense and suspensefully mounts to a wild, if not predictable, conclusion. The Wicker Man is accomplished, disturbing and smart; traits any horror movie worth its weight should be able to boast.
