The Wicker Man is one of those films that I have always heard so much about but never got around to seeing. But watching a movie a day finally afforded me the chance to check it out. And honestly, I'm kind of glad it worked out this way. It's a really solid film, but had I watched it long ago I don't know if I would have appreciated the slow pace and it's insistence on being a different kind of horror movie - one that's certainly frightening but doesn't rely on a lot of classic horror tricks to get the job done.
While the tone and overall feel of the film isn't that easy to summarize, the plot is relatively simple. Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) turns up on the remote Scottish Island of Summerisle in a single passenger seaplane. He's investigating a report about a young girl that has gone missing - he's armed with just her picture and a name. But the locals make it pretty clear that they don't take too kindly to outsiders, as they are either deliberately obtuse or flat out rude when Howie questions them. But there is more going on in Summerisle than meets the eye, and Howie quickly finds out that the island does not fit neatly into his "civilized" worldview. The people of Summerisle practice a pagan religion that is at odds with Howie's prim and proper Catholic beliefs. The islanders believe people's spirits are in the trees, they perform various masked rituals, worship through big group songs, and engage in the occasional orgy - the people's attitudes towards sex are in particular a disgrace in the eyes of Sergeant Howie. But he diligently continues his investigation, eventually getting a better understanding of the island from Lord Summerisle, played by Christopher Lee. But even after Howie has wrapped his head around the religious practices on the island, he *still* thinks there are some shenanigans going on. He'll do whatever it takes to track down the missing girl and bring these "savages" to justice.
At this point in my movie-watching career, one of the most desirable traits I can find in a movie is uniqueness. (You still want the thing to be good, but you know what I mean.) Whether it's in story, style, or overall tone, just getting something outside of the norm is a nice treat. And The Wicker Man is certainly unique. The vibe is sometimes playful, sometimes mysterious, sometimes sensual, but often less tense than your average horror film. But then when the horror stuff hits, it hits HARD (like feeling it in the pit of your stomach hard). Just like Sergeant Howie on the island, you never really find your footing as a viewer of The Wicker Man, and it makes for an excellent experience.
One thing that really got me on board with it was the music. There are probably four or five little ditties in that have an ethereal feel to them - they feel like they could be derived (or perhaps even are) old Scottish folk songs, but the musical (and visual) accompaniment give the melodies a kind of mysterious feel. Most of these musical numbers take place a little earlier on, and they are great. They really help set a foreboding tone that carries through the rest of the film.
The island setting (not actually shot on Summerisle but in various places along the coast of Scotland) was a fantastic mood-setter as well. The landscape has a kind of cold-beauty to it - while it doesn't feel "alien" specifically, it plays a big role in creating a sense of "Otherness" that Sergeant Howie has to navigate. And since we never see Howie off the island of Summerisle, his "normal" life is a pretty blank slate. It's easy as a viewer to project your own views of normalcy onto him, making his experiences on the island even more foreign.
The performances are solid across the board. Edward Woodward is great as Sergeant Howie - he easily elicits your sympathy as a guy trying to do the right thing. And even as Howie is kind of a dick about his religious beliefs, Woodward imbues the character with just enough fear and uncertainty to make it work. And the ever-dependable Christopher Lee is solid as Lord Summerisle - he's just charming enough to explain the history of the island in a way that actually makes sense, and you can see why the islanders all look up to him as their leader. (It's worth noting that The Wicker Man is widely known to be Lee's favorite film that he was a part of.)
I don't know how much more I really need to get into here. If you've seen it, you know what I mean, and if you haven't I don't want to spoil it. But it's probably the first "must-see" film I've come across in this movie-a-day journey. It's not your typical horror film (I don't know if there's *any* blood whatsoever), but it's still has some of the scariest scenes I've ever come across. The Wicker Man is generally referred to as a cult classic, but I don't know if that does it any favors. Just "a classic" would be fine by me.
I would highly recommend this film.
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