The Wicker Man: Burning With Passion
Flesh to touch… Flesh to burn! Don’t keep the Wicker Man waiting!
In the early ‘70s, writer Anthony Shaffer had seen a fair share of horror movies and decided to write one of his own, one that would be quite different from the more conventional Hammer output. The film did get made and even featured Hammer’s greatest star, Christopher Lee, but The Wicker Man came to be severely mistreated over the years. Key sequences were cut, others were simply lost. But it did become one of Britain’s most enjoyable cult classics and a “director’s cut” was eventually produced. This film deserves to be seen by more people. This man made of wicker deserves to be seen in his full glory.
It begins with Police Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) traveling to the small Scottish island community of Summerisle. His mission is to find out what happened to a little girl called Rowan Morrison, who’s reported missing. He realizes that no one on the island wants to give him straight answers and Rowan’s mother denies that she’s missing. She even produces a girl she calls Rowan who looks nothing like the one seen in a photograph that Howie has received from an anonymous tipster. He continues the investigation; the fact that everyone in the village seems to be lying bothers Howie, but perhaps not as much as all the displays of sexuality and pagan worshipping that goes on everywhere. Howie is a devout Christian and Summerisle has turned its back on Christ, much to the satisfaction of its mysterious leader, Lord Summerisle (Lee). As Howie comes closer to the missing girl, the island threatens to consume him.
It is a very cleverly structured story that Mr. Shaffer has created and the director makes no mistakes bringing it to the screen. But Shaffer is not the only one who deserves praise. The folk music is very memorable and there’s a lot of it in several sequences that almost play like music videos. These were shortened or cut in earlier versions, probably by people who did not understand their value. They’re crucial to the film; without them, The Wicker Man is merely a good thriller about crazy people on an island. With them intact, the film is great, actually defying any attempt to categorize it by genre. Some of these sequences are quite erotic and all of them are strangely fascinating. How about that orgy where even the snails on a leaf are having sex? How about Britt Ekland driving Howie crazy by dancing in the nude? The children preparing for May Day? The people of Summerisle happily singing as the wicker man burns? It’s all very odd and likely to haunt viewers. Equally haunting is the performance of Edward Woodward, at first making us laugh at his earnest, proudly prudish Police Sergeant, then making us feel for this Christian who cries out to God for help (much like the biblical Daniel in the furnace, actually…). His is the most accomplished performance, although Mr. Lee is terrific; incidentally, a friend of mine thinks the Hammer star shares a resemblance with Cher in the final sequences, and he’s not entirely wrong. These gentlemen are ably supported by the people who portray the friendly but deluded population of Summerisle.
So, is this a film worth recommending to hardcore horror fans? After all, it was Mr. Shaffer’s intention to make a horror film. Well, few things about this film are truly frightening, but it does turn pretty unpleasant in the ending. Most real horror flicks have some kind of happy ending, but not this one. The filmmakers make no compromise—nothing good can come out of visiting Summerisle.
The Wicker Man 1973-Britain. 105 min. Color. Produced by Peter Snell. Directed by Robin Hardy. Screenplay: Anthony Shaffer. Cast: Edward Woodward (Neil Howie), Christopher Lee (Lord Summerisle), Britt Ekland (Willow MacGregor), Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, Lindsay Kemp.
Trivia: Remade in the U.S. as The Wicker Man (2006).
Quote: “I think I could turn and live with animals. They are so placid and self-contained. They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins. They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God. Not one of them kneels to another or to his own kind that lived thousands of years ago. Not one of them is respectable or unhappy, all over the earth.” (Mr. Lee)
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