The Wicker Man is perhaps one of the best atmospheric horror films ever made. It is never scary, but it sure is frightening and filled with dread.
Director Hardy seems intent to achieve one thing and that is to immerse his audience in an unsettling and bizarre atmosphere and from that atmosphere create all the dramatic tension this story needs. He achieves this by strongly juxtaposing protagonist and antagonist and by using music a lot, always brilliantly.
It is paced slowly and deliberately, accompanying the methodical research of Woodward's protagonist beautifully. It takes a long time to get where it needs to go, which is excellent as it is consistently intriguing. When it finally reaches its conclusion, I was (again,…