Common Sense Media Review
Horror remake about murderous cult. Not for kids.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
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The Wicker Man
What's the Story?
Neil LaBute's remake of a 1973 cult favorite begins as California traffic cop Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) tries to help a woman and her young blond daughter on the highway, only to see them smashed and burned in a terrible car accident. Traumatized, he suffers nightmares and an unidentified nervous condition for which he takes prescription pills; this makes him ill-equipped to deal with a new case, namely, the missing daughter of his ex-fiancée, Willow (Kate Beahan). Yet, he finds a way to the isolated island where she lives among a community of bee-keeping women led by Sister Summersisle (Ellen Burstyn) and endeavors to locate little Rowan (Erika-Shaye Gair).
Is It Any Good?
THE WICKER MAN might best be described as one man's hysteria. Edward means well, insisting that he wants to "help people." But his efforts only lead him into trouble with a cult of malevolent women who outsmart him at every turn. With a softness that is both emotional and physical (he's allergic to bees, and rendered unconscious more than once), Edward is increasingly afraid and chaotic in his affect and appearance. But he's stuck, an unusual man forced to be usual (his last ditch efforts to fight the women physically are so overstated that they seem comic). Although he's initially a sensitive man who wants to be heroic, Edward is stuck inside a retro gender dynamic: evil women versus inept men.
Deducing that Rowan has been kidnapped and will be sacrificed at an upcoming fertility ritual, he makes a series of predictable choices, bicycling heroically from site to site in search of evidence, but, as he puts it, "Every time I turn my head, there's something that doesn't make any sense." Exactly.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the functions of cults in popular culture. How is Edward an ideal victim for this group, as he wants to "help people"? Why might it be significant that the women are associated with "fertility"? Why are horror movies so popular in general?
Movie Details
- In theaters : September 1, 2006
- On DVD or streaming : December 19, 2006
- Cast : Ellen Burstyn , Leelee Sobieski , Nicolas Cage
- Director : Neil LaBute
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Warner Bros.
- Genre : Horror
- Run time : 97 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : disturbing images and violence, language and thematic issues
- Last updated : September 21, 2019
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