• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Horror Movie Talk

A Horror Movie Podcast

Want to Support the Show? Spend on Amazon Become a Patron

  • Home
  • Episodes
  • Aftershows
    • Midnight Mass Aftershow
    • The Haunting of Bly Manor Aftershow
    • The Haunting of Hill House Aftershow
  • Blog
  • Supporters
  • About Us
    • Bryce Hanson
    • David Day
    • Dustin Goebel
    • Keith Harris
    • Leah
    • Kimi
    • Nikki
  • Contact
  • Shop
    • My account
  • Cart

The Wicker Man (1973) Review

By Bryce Hanson on April 15, 2020 0

https://media.blubrry.com/horror_movie_talk/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/48927595/download.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:55:37 — 79.4MB)

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | Podchaser | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | More

This week we watched The Wicker Man (1973) which can be found streaming on Netflix, and it lives up to the hype. On this episode, we are joined by Ben Warrington with his recommendations for movies to stream during quarantine, and we also read comments and questions from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The Wicker Man Artwork by Dustin Goebel
@dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website.

Synopsis

The Wicker Man is about a wicker man. No, it’s actually about a scottish constable, Sargeant Neil Howie, played by Edward Woodward who is called to investigate the disappearance of a little girl off of the secretive and secluded Island SummerIsle. The main thing that you need to know about Sargeant Howie is that he is tired of your shit. The main thing you need to know about SummerIsle is that this Island Fucks.

The Wicker Man Poster
The Wicker Man Poster

As Sergeant Howie investigates the disappearance of Rowan Morrison, it becomes quickly apparent that the islanders are not to be trusted. They have shifty eyes from the outset, and even worse, they are Pagans! The devout Christian Sergeant Howie is ill equipped to face the strange rituals and attitudes found to be taught and practiced on the island. These blasphemous rituals include singing and dancing around the maypole and … premarital sex!

Blasphemers!

As the mystery of the missing girl gets unraveled, Howie learns about the agrarian origins of the island and its reliance on the old gods to provide a plentiful harvest. Sometimes the old gods demand sacrifice. Just sayin.

Review

The Wicker Man focuses on the true horror, feeling uncomfortable around weird people.

This movie is a classic for a reason, it is very discombobulating, and you experience the confusion that Sargeant Howie does. Anyone with a conservative christian upbringing might not have as extreme reaction to the Paganism as Howie, but the feeling of discomfort about sex and blasphemy is probably familiar.

The darkness at the root of this island is felt throughout, but isn’t overt. Mostly it’s a feeling of being toyed with and mocked. The island is like a bunch of Mean Girls.

The enduring legacy of the film is it’s conclusion and I don’t want to spoil it for those that haven’t seen it. All I can say is it made me feel lots of emotions, almost like a religious experience

Score

10/10

The Wicker Man (1973)

Add the Blu ray to your collection or stream it right now

Buy/Rent on Amazon

Spoilers

Expand for Spoilers

I pretty much knew the plot of the Wicker Man from the Radiohead music video for Burn The Witch, and also heard that the ending of Midsommar was very similar, but I was genuinely effected by the ending of The Wicker Man.

This music video is based on The Wicker Man. There are spoilers.

The pacing of the film really lulls you into a false sense of security. You know pretty much from the get go that these islanders are acting suspicious, but the immediate conclusion is that they are covering for someone in the village that commited the murder.

However, as we see the islanders, especially the landlords daughter Willow, continue to fuck with him, it seems like there might be a larger conspiracy. Along the way, there is enough clues revealed, that it feels like the secret is that Rowan is alive and going to be sacrificed.

I’d let her fuck with me…

The conclusion arrives, and it is revealed that Sargent Howie was the target all along. They had specifically researched him and identified him as the ideal sacrifice to the gods for a plentiful harvest. He was:

  • An Adult Male
  • A Virgin
  • He comes with the power of a king in that he is a police officer
  • He is a Christian
  • He is a fool

When it is revealed that the method of sacrifice is to have Howie burned alive in a wicker man, it is genuinely terrifying. The camera stays with Howie as he sees the fire licking up at him in his final moments. It was deeply affecting.

Imagine this is the last thing you see before you die.

Final Recommendations

If you want to delve into the classics, I would definitely add this to the list. If you watched Midsommar and want more of that.

Videos Mentioned in This Episode

Wayne, were you ever attracted to Christopher Lee in drag?
New intro song be like…

About Bryce Hanson

I'm a big fan of horror movies because it's rare that they aren't interesting. Whether it is a straight to VOD or the latest theatrical release, there is always something to talk about. I also like to sing, wax philosophical about mythology and religion, contemplate the void, and spend time with my family. I am usually up in my head about something, so apologies if I'm looking off into the middle distance. Along with David, I am a co-founder of Horror Movie Talk.

If you want to know more about my taste in horror films, checkout my about page or listen to episode 14: "The Horrific Beginnings of Horror Movie Talk"

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Products

  • Horror Movie Talk Red Logo Tee Horror Movie Talk Logo T-Shirt
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $27.00 $23.99

Subscribe to Podcast

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAmazon MusicAndroidPodchaserRSSMore Subscribe Options

Follow Us Like a Predator

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Spotify
  • Patreon

Recent Posts

  • 28 Days Later Review
  • Cocaine Bear Review
  • Scream 6 Review
  • Whooores Only – Vol. 6 – Checking Voicemails
  • 2nd Annual Talkies – 2022 Year in Review – Best and Worst Horror Movies of 2022
  • Top 5 80’s Horror Movies List!!
  • The Descent Review & Coltan Scrivner Interview
  • The People Under the Stairs Review
  • Let the Right One In (2008) Review
  • Whoores Volume 5 – Checka Da Voicemails

TALK TO US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Facebook
  • Twitch
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Patreon

Links

© Copyright 2020 Horror Movie Talk · All Rights Reserved ·