The Wicker Man Review

Written by: MistressOf Horror   

The Wicker Man isn't truly a "horror" film as much as a Dark thriller.. but a great film none the less..

As the film begins, Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward, who you might also remember as television’s The Equalizer) arrives at the isolated island of Summerisle. He is  mainland police officer who has received a letter stating a girl on the island had gone missing, and Sgt. Howie has been sent to get to the bottom of the mystery.

To say that Howie is a man of faith would be an understatement. He's almost a christian fanatic . It would be alarming if it wasn’t so funny, especially when his world collides with that of the residents of Summerisle. They are wholeheartdly PAGANS, and both sides seem to look at the other with a mixture of curiosity and contempt (with most of the contempt coming from Howie).

Besides being isolated on an island full of heathens, Howie is also stonewalled in his investigation at every turn. Residents claim to have never heard of the missing girl, but it becomes obvious that they’re lying through their teeth. The upright inspector becomes increasingly angry, a condition which doesn’t improve when he meets Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), the confident and so so so relaxed master of the island.

As he gets closer truth, we slowly come to realize that things are far more evil and sinister that at first seems.  Howie wears a disgusie and crashes the island’s annual Mayday festival. When the final curtain is pulled back--and Howie exclaims “Oh, Jesus Christ!”--it’s one of the most powerful and honest moments ever captured on film.

A film that is great because it shows a prudish religious man thrown into the face of sexuality and beliefs of pagans.. a  world where the "old ways" rule and Howie's spiral through the whole ordeal.