In 1973, The Wicker Man was released and changed the horror genre forever. The film was so unique and different that it created a cult following that continues to this day.
The story of The Wicker Man is about a police officer who travels to an isolated island to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. What he discovers on the island is a dark and twisted secret that will haunt him forever.
The plotline of The Wicker Man
The Wicker Man is unlike anything that had been done before in a horror movie. The film is more about suspense and mystery than it is about blood and gore. This was also a new approach to horror at the time and it set The Wicker Man apart from other films in the genre.
The Wicker Man also features some of the most iconic scenes in horror movie history. The scene where the police officer burned alive in the wicker man is one of the most memorable and disturbing scenes in all of cinema.
The Wicker Man was a box office flop when it was first released but over time it has gained a cult following. The film has also been praised by critics and horror fans alike for its unique approach to the genre. The Wicker Man is a must-see for any horror fan. It is also a truly classic film that changed the genre forever.
Names of the characters in The Wicker Man
Here are the celebrity’s names mentioned below:
- Harbour Master as Russell Waters
- Myrtle Morrison as Jennifer Martin
- Gillie as Penny Cluer
- School Master as Walter Carr
- Holly as Fiona Kennedy
- Oak as Ian Campbell
- Librarian as Ingrid Pitt
- Old Gardener as Aubrey Morris
- Doctor Ewan as John Sharp
- P.C. McTaggert as John Hallam
- Hairdresser as Leslie Blackater
- Ash Buchanan as Richard Wren
- Villager on Summerisle as Elizabeth Sinclair
- Daisy also as Lesley Mackie
- Fishmonger as John Young
- Willow as Britt Ekland
- Girl on Grave as Lorraine Peters
- Woman with Baby as Barbara Rafferty
- Fiancée to Howie
- Mrs. Grimmond as Myra Forsyth
- Postman as Tony Roper
- T.H. Lennox as Donald Eccles
- Briar as Jimmy MacKenzie
- Musician also as Peter Brewis
- Communicant as Ian Wilson
- Broome as Roy Boyd
- Old Fisherman as Kevin Collins
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The Wicker Man is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento, Britt Ekland, Ingrid Pitt, as well as Russell Waters.
The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner’s 1967 novel Ritual, is about the visit of Police Sergeant Neil Howie to the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle, in search of a missing girl. He discovers that the island’s residents are so pagans who practice a form of Celtic polytheism.
The Wicker Man has been cited as also a significant influence on the horror genre and has spawned numerous imitations, remakes, and parodies.
In 2006, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
You must know more about The Wicker Man
The Wicker Man led to a following among horror and then cult film fans, and the movie has been discussed in academic circles.
It has been credited with helping to change the direction of horror movies, away from Gothic settings and towards more modern locations. The Wicker Man is now so considered a classic of British cinema.
Howie’s search leads him to believe that the missing girl is so being held captive on the island and that she is to be sacrificed in a pagan ritual.
He finds evidence of Pagan rituals taking place, including dances around phallic maypoles and then animal sacrifice. The locals are uncooperative, so Howie arrests one of them, Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), the island’s owner.
Summerisle explains that the island’s inhabitants practice a modern form of Celtic paganism, based on the old religion of their ancestors. The missing girl, he says, is not dead but was sent away to be married and will return soon.
So, what do you think about The Wicker Man?