The Wicker Man

1973 Directed by Robin Hardy

Flesh to touch...Flesh to burn! Don't keep the Wicker Man waiting!

Police sergeant Neil Howie is called to an island village in search of a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. Stranger still, however, are the rituals that take place there.

Edward Woodward Christopher Lee Britt Ekland Ingrid Pitt Diane Cilento Lindsay Kemp Aubrey Morris Russell Waters Irene Sunters Roy Boyd Ian Campbell Walter Carr John Hallam Barbara Rafferty Tony Roper John Sharp Donald Eccles Robin Hardy Gerry Cowper Jennifer Martin Richard Wren Fiona Kennedy Lesley Mackie Myra Forsyth Penny Cluer Peter Brewis Leslie Blackater Juliet Cadzow Helen Norman Show All…

Country

Language

English

Alternative Titles

Anthony Shaffer's The Wicker Man, The Wickerman, The Wicker Man: The Final Cut, De Gevlochten God, O Homem de Palha

horror

94 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by brat pitt ★★★★ 4

damn this twin peaks x moonrise kingdom crossover is pretty dark
Review by Karsten Runquist ★★★★ 12

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

The disturbing nature of those last 10 minutes doesn't fully set in until it's over. For some reason, as inevitable as the ending may seem for the entire movie, you still feel like there's a chance of making it out. This is hilarious too. Think I loved it. I also think folk horror is officially my "thing".
Review by Monday Seagull 6

Terrifying.
I mean, as if there wasn't already enough pressure to lose your virginity.
Review by DirkH ★★★★½ 6

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,…
Review by ethan 5

midsommar really thought they could plagiarise this entire film and just add will poulter so i wouldnt notice...... well they thought right
Review by Branson Reese 8

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Do you think Ari Aster gets nervous that this movie not only exists but is also pretty famous?
I think it’s beautiful that long before the “if you fuck, you die” trope was established in horror a Scottish Sam Eagle flew to Vashti Bunyan island and #NoNutNovember’d so hard he died in May. Not marking that a spoiler because it’s on the movie poster. You should just be smarter about which reviews you read.
Review by Ian West ★★★★★ 11

The Wicker Man always makes me feel uneasy and the overall oddness/whacky pacing that many see as a negative only enhance the experience for me—especially since it takes place on my birthday.
Folk horror royalty.
Review by Hollie Horror ★★★★ 1

Edward Woodward is SO FUCKING GOOD as an uptight pig who is offended by everything, loved watching him yell at children, knock stuffed animals in lewd positions to the ground in a huff, and scoff at anything/everything he deems pagan. The slapping sounds on the walls during Willow's song, with her nude body double, made me cackle because it's so ridiculous, but it's not nearly as outlandish as Christopher Lee's hair.
Review by Dyrnott ★★★★★ 3

This movie is so delightfully twisted with charm! Directed by the late Robin Hardy that actually only directed three movies. He crafted this masterpiece! I you haven’t seen it you need to check it out and if you have seen it revisit it again!
Review by kayla ★★★★

I guess I never knew I wanted musical horror films until I saw this musical horror film
Review by san ★★★★ 3

wtf I love the Midsommar Cinematic Universe now
Review by Coolnilk ★★★½ 2

While this notable film is somewhat dated by today's standards mostly due to the nonsensical musical numbers/score that pull you out of the experience at points, The Wicker Man nonetheless makes for a more than suitable and reasonably surreal piece of work that goes for a more refined approach in giving out thrills compared to other horror outings out there.
The film's strange and uncanny atmosphere is built upon quite well here for the most part especially as The Wicker Man goes along, as it carefully follows Woodward's character of Sergeant Howie who clashes with the local inhabitants of the remote island known as Summerisle largely because of their overly sensual and just plain mysterious nature all around.
Ultimately, The…

Recent reviews

Review by Joakim Larsson ★★★½

A great inspiration for the masterpiece ‘Midsommar’ but today not much then just that.
Review by ICantSneed ★★★★★

the dream tbh
Review by Georgia (Gogo) Steff ★★★★

Villagers are very unsettling
Review by CorporateClone ★★★

"Sergeant Howie, you disappoint me. Yoda holds you in such high regard.
Review by James Laubhan ★★★½

Subtle messages about religious beliefs are wrapped around a very eerie film filled with strange imagery, wacko music, lots of naked bimbos and plenty of tits. None of which are necessarily my favorite things but I did find the film intriguing to some degree.
Yes can appreciate films about religious fanaticism and it’s relevant because there are plenty of extreme mainstream religions too that are just as horrifying that are considered “normal”. So what’s the difference that this particular religion is one that practices human sacrifices and worship of phallic symbols for the sake of healthy crops? Maybe the police sergeant who was a devout Christian was just as radical believing the Son of God hung from a cross and…
Review by mrgibso ★★★★

jar of foreskins
Review by rai 🦔 ★★★★½

absolutely insane! i should've been there. but seriously i'm obsessed with the folk horror musical of it all
Review by David Griffiths ★★★★★

One of my all-time favourites which I somehow ended up rewatching as part of a watch party because the Nicholas Cage version was unavailable (!). This time I watched the abbreviated version, which omits one song, Christoher Lee in a kilt and some snail sex.
The movie has a unique atmosphere- it features so many songs that it's practically a musical and it's all charming, quirky and funny until an abrupt change of gears leads to the harrowing ending. It has some of the wonky British psychedelic energy of The Prisoner and the cast all seem to be having fun with it. Each time I watch it I find myself exploring the backgrounds for fascinating little bits of pagan imagery. Can't be topped.
Review by Nico Films ★★★★

what zero pussy does to a mf
Review by abby ★★★★

when he’s over 6ft.....
Review by Alex Preston ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Suspected the whole time that the police officer was playing right into their hands, and the reveal was perfectly executed (no pun intended) at the height of suspense in the story.
I knew for sure that he deserved to be sacrificed when he told the pagans that their gods aren’t real while still fully believing that his God is real.
Review by Ethan Frederick

The Virgin, Christian, British blowhard vs the Chad, pagan, dandy Christopher Lee