I 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 based on the Scottish mainland. He receives an anonymous 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. Despite the seeming reluctance of the locals (including Rowan Morrison’s mother, who denies even having a daughter called Rowan) to co-operate with Sergeant Howie’s investigations, all the evidence quickly leads him to believe that Rowan has been sacrificed as part of a macabre pagan ritual.
He investigates further, becoming more and more disquieted by the behaviour of the locals, particularly the self-appointed religious leader of the island, Lord Summerisle, played by Christopher Lee, in one of his first post-Hammer horror roles, and temptress Willow,
played by Britt Ekland. The scene in which Ekland performs a naked fertility dance to try and seduce Sergeant Howie is undeniably erotic, and it will certainly appeal to male viewers – despite the fact that Ekland used a body double for the scene!
As events on the island become more sinister, Sergeant Howie becomes more and more disturbed and struggles to keep his sanity, stick to his religion, and not to be drawn in to the island’s rituals. He believes he has solved the mystery of Rowan Morrison’s disappearance and sees an end to his stay on the island, but then the shocking truth becomes apparent.
This film surprised me in many ways. I was expecting something much darker and more sinister, but in fact the majority of the film comprises beautiful Scottish scenery, maypole dancing, and very strange Scottish folk music! In fact, if I was asked to pigeon hole this film into a genre, I would probably be tempted to describe it as a musical – as characters unnecessarily burst into song in a well-rehearsed, choreographed way. The music is rather bizarre and quite hypnotic – which perhaps does add a little to the suspense of the film. It is only the ending of the film that is truly shocking, haunting and down-right disturbing. Despite the lack of gore or jumpy, shriek-inducing moments, this images at the end of the film did stay with me for quite some time and played on my mind more than any of the traditional gore-fest horrors.
Having said that, as a whole, I did not particularly enjoy the film. I did not warm to any of the central characters. I assume our sympathies are supposed to lie with Sergeant Howie, but I found his cold, emotionless demeanour did not endear him to me at all. Similarly, I found Lord Summerisle and Willow both quite irritating – particularly because Britt Ekland’s character has been very obviously dubbed to give her a Scottish accent in place of her own Swedish one. Perhaps it is the creators’ intention that none of the characters are particularly likeable, blurring the boundaries in our mind between our allegiance to good or evil, but for me part of the enjoyment of a film is to get to know the characters and hopefully warm towards at least one of them, so that you care about the outcome, but in this case I did not, and the only emotion the film’s ending provoked was one of shock, as it was not what I had been expecting.
Despite that, it would be fair to say that both Lord Summerisle and Sergeant Howie are well-acted (I would not presume to dismiss the acting abilities of Lee and Woodward!) Willow, on the other hand, is clearly included simply for her aesthetic properties, as opposed to her acting abilities. Some of the other cast members also treat us to some dodgy acting at times, over-doing the Scottish eccentricity more than a little!
I also found there were many flaws in the story – not only individual elements of it, but the concept as a whole. It is hard to discuss the flaws in the detail without giving away the ending, but my main issue with the film as a whole is whether a lone police officer would really have been sent to a remote Scottish island with no back up or contact with the mainland to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. This seems unlikely. Also, the fact that the strange activities and insular existence of the inhabitants of Summerisle have never come to anyone’s attention before does not quite ring true.
I can see why the film has achieved cult status. Its collection of strange, eccentric characters, unusual music and original subject matter would certainly attract a cult following, and I can see that the film would appeal to people who want to watch it again and again, each time looking for something new (although I personally would not choose to watch it again).
Despite having little idea of what to expect in terms of storyline, I had high hopes for this film, simply because it is a cult classic. It had been on my “must-see” list for a long time, and only recently, when it came on the TV, did I have a chance to see it. Had I come to the film with no expectations, I possibly would have enjoyed it a bit more. As it was, I felt somewhat let down by what I would describe as an unusual, mediocre film with a shocking ending.
I would still recommend that you watch the film, if given the opportunity. The story itself is quite clever, the genre is nothing if not unusual (if not indefinable!) and, like me, you may be intrigued by the ending, and the only way to find out what happens is to see the film, as I am not going to tell you! The title of the film also intrigued me, and similarly, the only way to find out its significance is to watch the film.
There are currently two versions of the Wicker Man available on DVD on Amazon. Both are special editions: the Classic Collection, priced at £36.89, and the Director’s Cut at £19.99. Both are 2-disc sets. I could definitely not justify paying either of these prices for the film, and can only assume that its cult status has led to the inflated price tags. As well as the film itself, two documentaries have been made exploring the film and its cult following: “The Wicker Man Enigma”, and “Burnt Offering – The Cult of the Wicker Man”. The latter was recently screened, along with the film, on Channel 4 as part of “Shriek Week”, so it is unlikely that either will be shown again on terrestrial TV in the near future. It’s still not worth buying the DVD though!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Yeah, the ending is disturbing, but that's why it is so brilliant. When the wicker man first comes onto the screen I got shivers down my spine - no really, I did! Great review though!
SurveyMasterNico 18.04.2005 21:52
I agree with your view that it's overrated, good review.
FrenchCancan 09.01.2004 00:13
Thanks for ruining it for the rest of us by telling us that Ekland used a double... Thanks a million.. Great review, not one I will keep in mind for my next trip to the video place.. Saves me £3.50. Every little help.
Dec 17th, 2003
exceptional by (2%):
very helpful by (98%):
