Corn rigs and barley rigs, not Nicolas Cage. 1973, not 2006 remake. These differences are very important.
There's no shouting for the drone to die. There is no mouth-breathing Cage-face. No, in Robin Hardy's horror feature, the Wicker Man the build-up is about the story and not about the cast -- though, its cast is notable.
Christopher Lee and Britt Eklund (voice dub or not) serve as convincing and creepy cult members, both attempting to seduce (in various ways) Edward Woodward's pious sergeant into the ways of their ritual worship. The sergeant is on the hunt for a missing girl but the Scottish island community of Summerisle proves mysterious, if not mum, on the subject.
After locating evidence that the missing girl does, in fact exist, Sergeant Howie tries to participate in May Day festivities disguised as a reveler. He sees the girl, "sets her free" and shit gets real.
Some people have phobias and the Wicker Man isn't normal household horror material, so I'll just lay it out there: There's a wicker man effigy. Of the sort Celtic pagans once used for sacrifices. It gets used. There's some singing and chanting and way too much smiling. It's all sorts of jacked up and wrong.
Posting the most memorable scene would scar some readers and ruin the film for others, so instead, jump for what is simultaneously the least effective and most sexy-Bond-girl trailer for a horror movie ever.
Most Memorable Scene:
It's a toss-up: Visually and emotionally, the final "wicker man" scene will always be etched in my brain (I'm a total asshole, though, and it has more to do with the pig and goat than the man). In terms of soundtrack, however, Paul Giovanni's "Corn Rigs" wins out.
The Mixmaster's Horror Movie Countdown October 1: Halloween October 2: Antichrist October 3: Student Bodies October 4: Poltergeist October 5: Jaws October 6: Suspiria October 7: Scream October 8: The Fly October 9: Dead Alive October 10: Drag Me to Hell October 11: Se7en October 12: Rosemary's Baby October 13: Friday the 13th October 14: The Thing October 15: Audition October 16 and 17: The Exorcist and The Exorcist III October 18: The Omen October 19: Paranormal Activity October 20: Changeling October 21: Hellraiser October 22: 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later October 23: A Nightmare On Elm Street October 24: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre October 25: The Amityville Horror October 26: The Shining October 27: Psycho October 28: Trick 'r Treat
