I should start by mentioning that this film is one of my top 10 of all time so expect me to heap praise... Time and time again when watching this film does it genuinely scare me, scared like hairs pricking up on the back of neck scared. What has always bothered me most when watching this film is that Edward Woodward is alone on that island and no matter what he says to anyone he is getting no help. Sir Christopher Lee in my personal favourite role of his (get back Hammer fans!) is a massive presence and does wonders for the story, he scares me in the most normal roles let alone being a pagan druid willing to kill for fruit! Britt Ekland has an odd role as she was body and voice doubled, but what she brings to the screen is the temptress charm that almost vacuums up Edward Woodward, it's her facial expressions that do it here.The soundtrack for this film also works perfectly, one thing can can easily make or break a horror film is its soundtrack and the use of Scottish folk music fits perfectly. Wonderfully filmed, acted and written, The Wicker Man is a masterpiece.

The wicker man is worth a watch just for it's weirdness. Some of the bits are even comical but there are a few moments of creepyness.

This is probably one of the best horror movies I've seen, although I admit it doesn't really try that hard to be scary. It's a shame that my introduction to this film was the cheesy Nicolas Cage version. This is better in every way, mostly because well, the acting is infinitely better. It was weird watching this knowing how it would end. That still didn't take away any enjoyment from the film. What's great about this film is how philosophical it is.We get a lot of great points raised about religion and other things like sexuality. It was hard to recognize such a young Christopher Lee. The pacing in this film was great, especially with how it didn't feel too long or short. The plot is that a religious police officer is going to this isolated island community to search for a missing girl. I don't know why the Nicolas Cage version had so much more women. ***1/2

One of the quintessential British horror movies of the 1970s, as reckoned in the many books to come out on the subject in recent years (Ten Years of Terror is recommended reading to any fan of the genre), THE WICKER MAN is a truly unique film which succeeds in being a true horror film. Yet there are no vampires or monsters here, no bloodshed, violence, or gore. Instead, the film starts off deceptively slowly, taking care to characterise Woodward's central figure and paint a complex picture of the community of Summerisle into which he comes. Then the clues begin to fall together, the suspense builds up rapidly and POW!, the film hits you with one of the most stunning climaxes ever seen in a horror film.For the most part, this doesn't even feel like a horror film, just a study of a community of pagans and heathens. Upstanding Christian Howie is of course shocked by all the so-called depravity he sees around him (couples copulating in fields at night; young girls dancing naked through fires; reproduction and reincarnation taught at the local school) and tries desperately to uphold his moral values when temptress Britt Ekland dances naked into the room next to his at night. The movie is beautifully shot, as seen in the opening shots of Howie's plane flying into the island; and the visuals are accompanied by plentiful folky music which helps to transfer the spirit of the islanders across, with many of the tunes being catchy and playful, not to mention melodic. When I learnt that THE WICKER MAN was actually filmed in 26-or-so separate locations I was shocked, because I was completely convinced that the community of Summerisle really did exist at first.What makes this film - and, in particular, the finale - so effective is its basis in reality. There are no showy or shouty performances, just matter-of-fact people going about their lives. No special effects or anything like that. Only vague hints of the darker things to come later in the movie - talk of crop failure and ritual sacrifice; the Hand of Glory appearing on Woodward's bedside; the whole story of the missing girl and the hare in her coffin. Towards the end, the film becomes a suspenseful actioner for a while as Woodward infiltrates the May Day celebrations in disguise and attempts to rescue the kidnapped girl, but then the twist ending arrives and turns everything around that you've previously seen, much like in THE SIXTH SENSE and no less effective.The finale is classic stuff and the image of the burning wicker man one of the most enduring in horror cinema. The moment in which Woodward first sees the figure and says "oh, Jesus, no!" still has the power to send a shiver down my spine although I've seen the movie half a dozen times. The shots of Woodward reciting the Lord's Prayer as the pigs squeal and burn is almost impossibly powerful and quite stunning - I've never seen anything like it. Forget CHILDREN OF THE CORN, THE WICKER MAN really is the last word on pagan worship and the theme has never been bettered.Edward Woodward puts in the performance of his career as the increasingly desperate Howie; a flawed and often laughable man, but still one you can identify with and sympathise with, and that's the key. Screen legend Christopher Lee enjoys what was his personally favourite performance as Lord Summerisle, and makes his character's convictions scarily convincing - a chilling turn, despite the fact that he is kind and courtly, or happy and laughing, for the majority of his appearance! Genre regulars Britt Ekland and Ingrid Pitt once again shed their inhibitions for the sake of their art to good effect, and each and every creepy islander is effective in his or her role, giving the film a truly scary conspiracy-style feel when the secrets are at last unearthed. Always watchable and truly enduring, THE WICKER MAN has achieved the interest it always deserved in recent years, with the final cut finally being released on Blu-ray format. This really is one of the best horror films to come out of the British Isles and maybe one of the best in screen cinema.