Advantages: Unusual "horror" movie, unexpected ending, interesting Disadvantages: Its simply not scary enough for my liking!
...usually end up hiding behind the nearest pillow/cussion/arm/person/delete as appropriate. But for some reason or another I feel drawn to scaring myself sh*tless. I guess its usually because a lot of horrors tend to be gory. And as I have a gruesome fascination….
You can fit the rest together yourselves.
It is because of this that I don’t usually bother watching older horror films. Not only have I usually seen most of the “scary” scenes on such ... ...also because they’re older, the graphics just don’t live up to my life-like expectations.
The Wicker Man was released 10 years before I graced this Earth (in 1973). Normally I wouldn’t be in too much of a rush to see a film of this age. However, as I’ve been interested in witchcraft all of my life and have dabbled in such arts in the past, I thought I’d watch it to see just how far-fetched and un-lifelike this film was.
It was shown on TV a couple ...
Sarah_Louise 21.05.2004
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Advantages: Unexpected ending, tension, music Disadvantages: Disturbing
The Wicker Man
Directed by Robin Hardy
Writing Credits Anthony Shaffer
Running time: 102 mins
Released 1973 Music composed by: Paul Giovanni Music performed by: Magnet Cast:: Edward Woodward: Sergeant Neil Howie
Christopher Lee: Lord Summerisle
Britt Ekland: Willow
Introduction
The Wicker Man is a triumph of British Horror. It is internationally regarded as one of the best horror films of all time and has been an influential film for many ... ...and sexual promiscuity. The horror of the film is presented and achieved through a variety of techniques that combine to achieve a discomforting effect throughout the film building up to the climax at the end when the Sergeant keeps his horrifying appointment with the Wicker man. The Setting
The film is set on the remote island of Summerisle on the West Coast of Scotland. It is isolated surrounded by water and can only be reached by plane or boat.
...
MAFARRIMOND 15.05.2004
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Advantages: I am glad I've seen it Disadvantages: I felt let down by all but the ending - which in itself is rather unpleasant
...had always been intrigued by The Wicker Man. It was variously known as a cult film, one of the scariest films of our time, and a film with one of the most surprising and shocking endings imaginable. Despite having heard so much about it, I had managed to find out little else about the film and was only vaguely aware that its subject matter had something to do with paganism.
The film stars Edward Woodward as Sergeant Neil Howie, a god-fearing policeman ... ...letter from a resident of the remote island of Summerisle, informing him of the disappearance of a local schoolgirl, Rowan Morrison, who is believed to have vanished under mysterious circumstances. Sergeant Howie sets off to Summerisle to investigate the disappearance.
He is met by a strange, unwelcoming community, and it soon becomes clear that the island’s residents subscribe to a sinister religion, worshipping the gods of nature and fertility. ...
Pumpkin 17.12.2003
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Advantages: Great film, really tense, good ending Disadvantages: No action, if you like that sort of thing.
...film, but if I got the chance (it’s a hard one to find) I would most definitely watch it over again.
This is a complex film, perhaps more of a thriller than a true horror, since there is no supernatural element in it. But the sense of dread and foreboding which it builds up is excellent, the twist in its tail totally unexpected and the messages and issues which the film deals with are clear.
Edward Woodward arrives on a small island investigating ... ...grow suspicious. His portrayal of the devour Presbyterian policeman is excellent, characterised by prudish behaviour and suspicion, especially when he finds out that the folk of the island are Pagans. He comes to the natural conclusion that the girl has a been a victim of some kind of sacrifice, but can still get nothing out of the locals, especially not the mysterious and thoroughly nonchalant Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle. Thentension is built ...
Spongly 19.03.2001
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Advantages: An intelligent and literate chiller Disadvantages: That the film has been so butchered down the years
The Wicker Man has a truly magical quality, and I've enjoyed introducing people to it down the years. To see people turn around at the end, eyes wide with astonishment, a slightly crooked smile, and to hear them croakily admit "That was amazing", is worth the hundreds of times I've seen Robin Hardy's brilliant 1973 take on the horror genre.
To think, the film puts so many obsticals in the way of a jaded modern viewer of horror. It has a folk soundtrack ... ...wordy and character driven, and the horror is minimal, instead relying on a slow build up of tension until the dread overwhelms you, and then comes the climax...and it still turns me white, and sends chills across my body. Every. Single. Time.
That I should even of seen the film is a miracle considering it's history. The chain of events that lead to The Wicker Man's cult, rather than commercial success is amazing in itself. Put into production hastily ...
dadmancat 09.02.2003
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Advantages: Disturbing, Erotic and Picturesque, as well as having some great music Disadvantages: Some rather dodgy acting in places
The Wicker Man is a 1970's cult classic about the small Scottish island of Summerisle. It features the confrontation of a classical Christian doctrine with a more ritualistic, animal, pagan one that never gets named. It does so with almost comedic folk music and a smattering of tits. It's got my vote already. Our hero, a police officer called Sargent Howie, is sent to the island of Summerisle after receiving an anonymous letter claiming that a 13 ... ...helpful, and is confused by the fact that nobody seems to have heard of the girl. He finds the girl's supposed mother, but she too tells him she's never heard of the girl. His investigations lead him round the village, discovering more about the inhabitants' strange religious and social practices as he goes. As a staunch Christian, he is disgusted by the liberated and relaxed attitude of the women, including one very erotic but disturbing dance scene ...
Xamis 09.12.2001
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Advantages: The whole movie Disadvantages: The soundtrack
The Wicker Man (1973) is one of the most well known and respected cult movies of all time. But why was it made, and what issues does it raise about the time of production?
The Wicker Man was first conceived in 1972 when actor Christopher Lee (famous for his previous roles as ‘Dracula’ in the infamous Hammer Horror movies), Peter Snell (head of the film company, British Lion) and Anthony Shaffer (writer) first began talking about making ... ...now!) into a movie. However the plot from the actual book was not strong enough to make a movie from, so small-time director Robin Hardy joined the trio and began compiling ideas with them.
The idea of two religions colliding laid the basis for this fantastic movie. At the time of production there was social unease about a self-sufficient community, the Findhorn community, that lived with a totally different set of beliefs to the ‘Christian ...
oozitt 30.05.2002
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Advantages: Suspense, chills and eerie goings on... Disadvantages: None
...opinions was this one of The Wickerman, and here it is, rewritten…
**********
Police Sergeant Howie, played by Edward Woodward takes a trip to the Scottish Isle of Summerisle after receiving a little note from said island informing him that a young girl has gone missing. Upon arrival he begins to see just how strange the natives truly are. They seem at first not to know of any such girl, even though the population is but a wee one and everyone ... ...and in her coffin is the remains of a hare! Sounds odd? Well, yes it is quite odd…
The natives here are also prone to bursting into song on Summerisle. Haunting Gaelic songs sung beautifully (even by Christopher Lee, who plays Lord Summerisle). Strange things certainly are a foot on Summerisle! The islanders tend to do other such interesting things, too, such as leaping over bonfires in the nude and generally getting it on atop old gravestones. ...
Borg 01.01.2003
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...Despite every other review in the world singing the praises of this little film I'm going to have to slate it - Sorry. That may be far more to the point than normal but I do have good justification.
Police Sergeant Howie has come to the small island in search of missing schoolgirl Rowan Morrison and instantly smells a rat. The locals deny all knowledge of the girl despite glaring evidence to the contrary. Rowan's 'mother' claims she never existed ... ...in the register). After a bizarre night spent in the local public hostelry, Howie's investigations lead him to the lord of the island (the imaginatively titled Lord Summerisle). Howie becomes deeply concerned at what he's seen and what Summerisle inadvertantly reveals to him - something against God is practiced on this island the islanders most sacred day (May day) is fast approaching...
When made this film was butchered. I don't mean by the critics ...
TheNeil 10.07.2001
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Advantages: Well acted, atmospheric Disadvantages: Hacked about by distributers
...who have not heard of the 1973 British film 'The Wicker Man'. My mum told me about it once when she watched it on late-night telly, and she told me that it scared the wits out of her. I first saw it when it was broadcast as part of the BBC2 'Moviedrome' season in, I think, 1988. When I saw it the first thing that I thought was:
'What on earth is she on about?' (Referring to my mum of course)
The film is very good, but it all depends on which version ... ...given a brief synopsis of the plot, whilst attempting to give not too much away!
Police Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) is sent from the mainland of Scotland to the island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. He is a devout christian, who believes in the sanctity of the church and, among other things, pre-marital chastity. When he reaches Summerisle, he is disgusted, for want of a better word, to find that the locals ...
Nolly 05.05.2001
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Advantages: Superior horror movie Disadvantages: A bit too gruesome
'The Wicker Man' is probably the Scottish Tourist Board's most hated film!
This 1973 horror classic came out of an idea from the novel 'Ritual' by David Pinner. However, the film's director, Robin Hardy (whose first feature film this was, incredibly), and writer Anthony Shaffer, worked out the original script and plot.
Edward Woodward is the central figure in the film, as the middle-aged innocent of a policeman, Sergeant Neil Howie. His remit is ... ...and solve the disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison.
Set on an island called Summerisle, 'The Wicker Man' begins deceptively mundanely, with Howie flying in, but that's about as normal as this film gets.
Howie's investigations soon hit a dead end, as he comes up against the reticent schoolteacher Miss Rose (Diane Cilento), an evasive librarian (Ingrid Pitt), and the magnificent Christopher Lee as you've never seen him before, as the liberated ...
paulapollo 01.05.2005 (03.05.2005)
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Advantages: Truly chilling film, made all the more disturbing by the possibility of something like this happening. Disadvantages: The odd flash of 70's campness, but this is a minor, minor drawback
The film, made in 1973 and starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland and Ingrid Pitt, plays on one of our primal fears, solitude.
Woodward is excellent as Sgt Howie, a naive but dedicated officer who arrives at the island of Summerisle to investigate reports of a missing child.
The local community of Summerisle appear resistant to Howie's enquiries and he soon discovers the reason - the residents of Summerisle have rejected traditional ... ...day Scotland, and soon assumes the worst about the whereabouts of the missing girl.
We follow Howie through horrific discover after horrific discovery, through to his first meeting with Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee, at his most charming and terrifying!). As the film moves on, Howie continues to fit pieces of the jigsaw together and gets ever closer to the truth regarding the missing child.
We also see the battle that Howie is having with his ...
PhilMyGlass 26.01.2003
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Advantages: Creepy horror-musical Disadvantages: Folk songs will make you want to burn somebody alive in a Man Shaped basket
...horror. Set in broad daylight, The Wicker Man features no maniacs in masks. There is nothing to make you jump, and no ominous score to get your nerves jangling...just that cheery folk soundtrack. We're clearly on strange ground here, and Hardy's peculiar tale of faith and human sacrifice remains one of the most disturbing horrors of the Seventies. Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) lands on a remote Scottish island to investigate the disappearance ... ...from the island's inhabitants, he pays a visit to the debonaire Lord Summerisle, played with nonchalant charm by horror icon Christopher Lee. Howie begins to suspect that the girl has been sacrificed in a pagan ritual. The plot is as simple as that. It's not an easy film to accept - the forces of "Good" (Christianity) are shown as prudish, humourless and stupid, while the forces of "Bad" (Pagans) are depicted as happy, fun-loving types...although ...
Plissken 09.01.2001 (06.01.2001)
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Advantages: The soundtrack. The acting. The screenplay. Disadvantages: Terrible editing in the shorter version.
...on comparative religion, typical of the work of Anthony or Peter Shaffer (the screenwriter's brother, and writer of Equus and The Royal Hunt of the Sun, amongst others). The Wicker Man is brilliantly acted, the screenplay impeccably researched and well thought out and it is accompanied by a wonderful folksy soundtrack, containing elements of ancient folksongs, but which was composed specifically for the film.
Warning: two versions of this film exist. ... ...more clearly. The shorter version, hacked to bits by clumsy editing, was made so the film would be released as a supporting feature (otherwise it would not have been released at all).
This is a seminal, groundbreaking "horror" film, which stands alone, separate from any genre. It is a thought-provoking, insightful commentary on the nature of religion. Essential viewing.
Then again, you might think the acting over the top, the script uneven and ...
drewish 12.12.2004
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Advantages: A genuine "arty" film that is creepy and interesting Disadvantages: a genuine "Arty" film
...For those who have read the book - this film is a disappointment - the book is exceptionally unnerving. The film is, however, fascinating cinema as it charts the police officer's search for a missing girl only to caught in a pagan society where he is the sacrifice.
The islanders who inhabit this Scottish island of Fair Isle are the actual inhibitants and the pagan customs the story describes are still held and respected today across much of the ... ...Lee that makes this film the fascinating spectical it is.
It is the sense of entrapment, fear of the unknown that is portrayed throughout coupled with the devout Catholicism of the police officer, Edward Woodward, which leaves us actually amazed that a society could actually exist with these beliefs and function as if this were normal.
The film is more suited to an art cinema whether it's the soft tone lens filming or Christopher's lee soaring ...
coleecip 29.10.2004 (06.09.2006)
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