Common Sense Note
Parents should know that this is a more intensely erotic film than the 2006 remake (though the newer, PG-13 version is more violent, thank you MPAA). While it shows up championed in lots of horror-movie reference books and fan magazines perused avidly by kids, this film is very adult in its themes and pace. There is much female nudity, sex (or attempted seduction), and a threat of human and animal sacrifice. Specific to religion, the conflict of Christianity and revived ancient pagan worship is the underlying theme.
Families can discuss the religious element of this film. It's stronger here than in a lot of run-of-the-mill chillers (the remake included). Are the friendly people of Summerisle truly "evil" in the typical movie sense? And how and why would Judeo-Christian values and ethics made their behavior very different?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Charles Cassady, Jr.
THE WICKER MAN is a "cult" movie in more ways than one. Though considered a horror landmark, it was not a box-office hit, gaining slow appreciation over time (its reputation enhanced among fascinated fans because slightly different and longer versions circulate on video and DVD). This is not the sort of scary movie often targeted at kids with "boo!" moments, and nothing outwardly supernatural happens. Instead The Wicker Man is a disturbing suspense drama about religious ideas in deadly conflict. In this case, a remote British community has rejected conventional Christianity in favor of the ancient ways of Druid-style worship and ritual.
Seen today, director's-cut or not, the movie plays like the worst paranoid fears of those parents who are against the Harry Potter stories on the grounds that impressionable types will be bewitched by their magical elements. Even some of J.K. Rowling's ancillary details -- toads, herbs, a macabre Hand of Glory candle -- make appearances (it should be a relief that Rowling clearly changed their meanings).
The tale begins with the arrival by seaplane of a Scottish police Sgt. Howie (Edward Woodward) to the coastal settlement of Summerisle, following up on a letter that one of the local girls has disappeared. Blissful villagers, however, deny the child ever existed -- even her own mother is part of the cover-up. The pious Howie (who is also a lay minister) is just as offended by their "heathen" lifestyles. The church is long abandoned, children learn fertility rites and spells in school, naked couples make love outdoors at night, and men in the local inn sing a lewd ditty (there are so many songs and ballads here that The Wicker Man could be considered a musical!) about the owner's sexy daughter (Britt Ekland), who vigorously tries to seduce Howie through the locked door of his room.
When Howie visits the local authority, Lord Summerisle (classic movie villain Christopher Lee in one of his best roles), the aristocrat explains that his ancestor, a science-minded agronomist, banished belief in Jesus from the island and calculatingly returned the impoverished peasants to their old Celtic lore of earth spirits and mysticism, centering the born-again-pagans around procreation and the annual crop of exotic fruits and apples that are Summerisles' economic base. The policeman is now sure that the missing girl is a May Day human sacrifice to the gods to guarantee a bountiful harvest.
There's a "twist" ending that can be predicted fairly easily, but that doesn't make the movie's finale any less creepy or uncomfortable. Unlike Transylvania or typical Hollywood horror-movie haunts, Summerisle is an attractive setting and everybody seems cheerful, friendly and content -- as long as the harvest goes well. While we don't recommend The Wicker Man as family viewing, the religious angle, rare in run-of-the-mill horror films (and practically absent in the remake) provides a number of things that parents of mature offspring could talk about. Are the people and the Lord of Summerisle truly "evil" in the typical movie sense? What is true evil anyway? And how and why would Judeo-Christian values and ethics made their reactions and perceptions very different?
One can propose The Wicker Man makes a pro-Christianity statement since it shows dire consequence for a society that goes the opposite way. But the outcome is pessimistic and doom-laden.
Fans of this movie may want to compare it to the 2006 remake. Smaller kids who want to hear Christopher Lee's baritone singing voice are better steered to his musical superhero parody The Return of Captain Invincible.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentNudity (mostly female) in fertility rites, outdoor lovemaking, and a woman surprised in the bathtub. Frank talk about sexual symbolism, and topiary hedges that look like male genitalia. Bawdy singing. |
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ViolenceSome tussling. A man is knocked out and tied up. A fire kills another (along with some animals), but little is shown directly. |
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LanguageSome profanity. |
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Social BehaviorThis is an especially troubling horror film in that "evil" triumphs, or at least the antagonists with lethal designs on the main character carry out their plans successfully. There is just a hint at the end that their punishment lies down the road. The hero is depicted as a firm, upstanding, and devoted Christian, though some of those very traits drag him to his fate. |
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CommercialismAdvertising is one curse the cultists of Summerisle didn't rediscover! |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoSocial drinking; repeat visits to a jolly British pub. |
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