Review of The Wicker Man (1973) by Jennifer C — 03 Apr 2010

OK, so the spin on this movie is horror, yes?

Yes. We can all agree on that. It starts off innocuous enough -- good guy cop arrives on secluded, fruit bearing (?) isle on the Scottish coast, which apparently has no police department of it's own, nor telephone lines or contact whatsoever with the mainland. The inhabitants are clearly hiding something, good guy runs around getting angrier and progressively more sanctimonious. Christianity seemingly comes up against paganism, complete with nude fertility dances and petting of a giant phallic maypole...

And Saruman. Can't forget Saruman!

Anyways, the horror sort of hangs out offscreen -- teasing you with the occasional stomach turn (bits of skin hung over a grave, frogs forced into children's mouths...). You're left wondering where the hell the scares are.

And then the movie ends. And the end is so horrifying that vomiting seems imminent.

Fucking incredible movie.