The Wicker Man (1973) by Robin Hardy

Director: Robin Hardy

Year: 1973

Country: United Kingdom

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Cult

Plot:

Traveling to a secretive island, a mainland police detective investigating a child abduction case finds that the locals practice a pagan-like religion that hinders his quest where the more he learns about it, the gradual realization of his presence there is revealed, and he must stop it from happening.

Review:

This here was quite the fun, if a really flawed, effort. One of the few problems here is the fact that there are some really bland and unappealing folk songs throughout here that just make this one feel overlong and quite bland. The numerous musical interludes really overwhelm this one, as they're not that good and really don't offer up much of anything for the film other than getting in some nice innuendo, but on the whole it's not that appealing to stop the film cold to feature yet another suggestive local song-and-dance that's already mentioned before or to have an utterly obnoxious folklore tune continually play out.

There's also a rather big problem here with the central mystery that unfolds here, simply providing a series of behaviors that he finds weird only due to the contrast against the Christian ideologies he keeps spouting off, yet none of these events really have much of a horror or even suspense setup, as their standoffish behavior and mysterious rituals don't build suspense. The whole first hour plays out like a sardonic fish-out-of-water tale rather than any kind of macabre overview of a horror film, as it boils down to a continuous series of run-ins with free-spirited folks who stonewall his investigations and scoff at his views of their practices, which really hinders the film somewhat.

There's still a lot to like here despite these issues, as there's a wicked air under the surface here as the weirdness of their transgressions slowly reveals far more menacing tones. The way it shows their attention to the pagan religion spurning his efforts with their brazen worship of paganism iconography and symbolism, the lax attitude to sexuality that shows copious couplings in public spaces, nude worshipping practices and the induction of children into sexually explicit conversations which are then thrown back at him with a rather easy-going dismissal that works a rather involving mystery here as they overlay these with the slowly unfolding mystery about the girl.

This is certainly aiding nicely with the events of the finale, which is undoubtedly the highlight here, with the absolutely crazy ritual procession through the town as the garish costumes and jovial dancing create some fully impressive sequence, which comes off nicely alongside the central twist here that makes for a truly harrowing and cruel twist that really works well here. That gives this a considerable amount of good parts over the flaws, and along with the fine nudity throughout, gives this a lot to really enjoy about this one.

Overview: ****.5/5

An immensely enjoyable if slightly flawed effort, this one stands as one of the finer features in the style and is held in high regard as a whole despite the few slight issues here holding this down. Those who appreciate this kind of genre fare, who are curious about it, or who are fans of the creative crew will have a lot to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.