RogueSpear
09-24-2002, 03:39 PM
Director - Robin Hardy
Starring - Christopher Lee, Edward Woodward, & Britt Eckland
Rated - R
**Some minor spoilers throughout**
Plot
After receiving a report of a missing girl, Police Sgt. Howie (Woodward) travels to Summerisle to investigate. Once arriving on the island he is greated coldly by the locals. Although the missing persons report originated from Summerisle, no one on the island admits to knowing who she is, even her own mother. While investigating the report, Sgt. Howie, a devout Christian, begins to notice strange things about the people of the island. He sees people fornicating in public, doing naked fertility dances, and in a bar, the patrons sing a lewd song about the bartender's daughter Willow (Eckland) while she dances along. When Howie is given no help in the matter of the missing girl he goes to visit Lord Summerisle (Lee) who is in charge. It is here that he learns of May Day. An annual celebration that may be at the center of his search. As Sgt. Howie learns more and more and the people of Summerisle he realizes that not everything is as it seems.
Review
The Wicker Man is a horror movie, but in name only. There are no masked killers stalking horny teenagers, no gory deaths, and no "boo" scares. The horror in this movie is very subtle. It comes from the way people act, the things they say, and what they believe.
The acting in The Wicker Man was decent with the best performance coming from Christopher Lee. He is very good as the leader of Summerisle who only wants to care for his people. Edward Woodward was also good and his scenes with Lee worked very well. These are really the only two characters who are given any kind of development. The rest of the characters are merely bystanders.
The sense of dread that is built up in The Wicker Man comes from the fact that you only know as much as Sgt. Howie knows. There, I was constantly wondering what would happen next. Everything movies along smoothly with a few twists and turns that result in a very powerful and unexpected finale that both frightened and disturbed me. I was, however, kind of let down by the way everything at the end was wrapped un in a nice, tight, little "bow", but that can be overlooked.
The Wicker Man is a good movie but it did not live up to the hype for me. I would recommend it just to see what the deal is. That's why I rented it.
Final Score - 7/10
Starring - Christopher Lee, Edward Woodward, & Britt Eckland
Rated - R
**Some minor spoilers throughout**
Plot
After receiving a report of a missing girl, Police Sgt. Howie (Woodward) travels to Summerisle to investigate. Once arriving on the island he is greated coldly by the locals. Although the missing persons report originated from Summerisle, no one on the island admits to knowing who she is, even her own mother. While investigating the report, Sgt. Howie, a devout Christian, begins to notice strange things about the people of the island. He sees people fornicating in public, doing naked fertility dances, and in a bar, the patrons sing a lewd song about the bartender's daughter Willow (Eckland) while she dances along. When Howie is given no help in the matter of the missing girl he goes to visit Lord Summerisle (Lee) who is in charge. It is here that he learns of May Day. An annual celebration that may be at the center of his search. As Sgt. Howie learns more and more and the people of Summerisle he realizes that not everything is as it seems.
Review
The Wicker Man is a horror movie, but in name only. There are no masked killers stalking horny teenagers, no gory deaths, and no "boo" scares. The horror in this movie is very subtle. It comes from the way people act, the things they say, and what they believe.
The acting in The Wicker Man was decent with the best performance coming from Christopher Lee. He is very good as the leader of Summerisle who only wants to care for his people. Edward Woodward was also good and his scenes with Lee worked very well. These are really the only two characters who are given any kind of development. The rest of the characters are merely bystanders.
The sense of dread that is built up in The Wicker Man comes from the fact that you only know as much as Sgt. Howie knows. There, I was constantly wondering what would happen next. Everything movies along smoothly with a few twists and turns that result in a very powerful and unexpected finale that both frightened and disturbed me. I was, however, kind of let down by the way everything at the end was wrapped un in a nice, tight, little "bow", but that can be overlooked.
The Wicker Man is a good movie but it did not live up to the hype for me. I would recommend it just to see what the deal is. That's why I rented it.
Final Score - 7/10