I had watched the wild, campy sequel led by Nicolas Cage but never saw the film that inspired it. With October being the spooky month, I decided to start my Horrorpalloza 2024 with The Wicker Man. I could tell you how this movie ends even before viewing it for the first time due to a Bravo series on scariest movie moments. My reflection on this movie took into consideration what effect knowing what would happen to the main character might have on me; however, luckily there were so many other things in it that I did not expect and therefore felt like I missed nothing because of knowing about his eventual fate. This is one of those movies that obviously contained many concepts which sparked an array of other folk horror films and is still relevant up till now after fifty-one years.
Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodard) flies into the harbor of Summerisle, a remote island in the Hebrides off the Scottish coast with his seaplane. A letter without any sender’s name was dispatched to him from that area regarding a girl gone missing, Rowan Morrison. They are quick enough to point out that they don’t know her or where she lives but there is Mrs. Morrison who runs the sweet shop. The more he explores it, the more disturbed he becomes by its vibrant pagan roots where people have sex publicly in fields at night and young ones dance naked in the preparation of harvest festival. Howie’s apoplectic reactions seem only to enthuse the locals who even make fun of him. Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), a leader on the island invites him for investigation and even suggests exhuming body from cemetery.
But all is not what appears to be and Howie doesn’t realize that he is descending further down through this spiral path which will eventually lead to his destruction. Ironically enough, he has had many chances given to him where he could have chosen otherwise hence invalidating his fate. This ties partially back to Howie deeply held Protestant beliefs.
Howie has hallucinations of his own first communion to summon up and confront the sexual temptations introduced to him by Summerisle. He doesn’t have any respect for the local customs, which he considers as a sign of their faithlessness; the only way out is to let go of everything that does not agree with his beliefs. This prig is too much to like.
That’s why this movie is amazing. Howie turns out to be an asshole, so I didn’t really feel bad when he got what was coming at the end. I liked it more when they left you guessing about anything supernatural. Wicker Man may be taken literally as a group of people belonging to some bizarre religion where they worship ancient deities who are asleep or something else altogether. Is this town going down under a leader who wishes that an outsider can be transformed into a willing sacrifice in order for him/her death to change the course towards better yield next time? It’s interesting how Lord Summerisle appears nervous towards the end as Howie screams from his jail cell that all these actions are no use and that things will only become worse next year. In conclusion, this part of the movie couldn’t have been done any better because it leaves us asking questions until now.
I was shocked by how much like a musical this movie is. Some folk songs are given the production value scored soundtrack, costumes, dancing that makes you think it could be classified as a folk horror musical. This is the most dated thing about the movie. I would have preferred to see this part of it taken down even further and more weird horror allowed for instead of just oddness. There’s lots of weird cavorting meant to lure Howie, like Alice, down the rabbit hole but none of them unnerved me. Maybe that had something to do with most scenes being shot in broad daylight or maybe not because Ari Aster also made Midsommar which scared me incredibly hard all throughout.
I would really like to know how the movie would look with a different soundtrack. Just imagine Mark Korven’s work on The Witch, it created an eerie wildness that made every scene in its visitors uncomfortable. If such music was incorporated, it would be far more creepy even with the campy, silly visuals. Things like Britt Eklund as the innkeeper’s daughter don’t seem to add much to the film. I think that casting in general is okay though there are just a few kinds of characters. Including few beautiful blondes and a lot of leering creepy old men. One change in a remake that I would make will be adding some unique personalities which can further help Summerisle become even weirder than ever before.
Even though I knew how things would eventually end for Sergeant Howie, I still thought the film was intriguing and entertaining. Christopher Lee’s portrayal of Lord Summerisle is spot on; a continually grinning and self-assured ruler who can reveal the history of the island without causing an infodump. I’d have loved more of this character because Lee really makes a good actor, leaving us in suspense about what might be going through his mind concerning his homeland. The movie’s script is good at slowly giving away details while avoiding too much. There is something mischievous and eerie about it that reminds me of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as a lovely match.
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