Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man is an exceptional exercise in Freudian horror. Rather than rely on supernatural spooks and scares, Wicker Man silently penetrates our inner psyche. A handful of societal and religious taboos thrust us into an alien world which embrace these radical cultural concepts. Much like our protagonist Sergeant Howie, it is a difficult adjustment. The tenuous grasp on a familiar reality creates an overwhelming sense of disquieting discomfort.
On a “[heathenistic yet] hopefully not an unenlightened” island, horror icon Christopher Lee plays Lord Summerisle. Summerisle bears likeness to a dictator on an island of loyal, unquestioning followers. When Howie, sent from the nearest offshore precinct to investigate the disappearance of a child, arrives at Summerisle he is perplexed at the behavior of its inhabitants. Their sense of “cooperating” with the sergeant’s line of questioning is to rebuttal with a sequence of self-contradictory non-sequiturs. Howie is trying to solve a puzzle with pieces from the wrong box.
The filmmaking itself is equally unconventional in its approach to regaling what is essentially Howie’s story of propulsion towards his own fate in martyrdom, a “rare privilege” according to Summerisle. Frequent song numbers string the narrative together like a morbid Broadway show. Obtuse camera angles and fragmented cutting create an all around uncustomary, inspiring, intriguing work of art.
"They will not fail!" -Lord Summerisle
The Wicker Man raises many questions of authority; what it is, who has the right to enforce it, and how self-interest finds its way of trickling into the mix. While Howie maintains they are still the subject of a Christian country, Summerisle responds with scoffing cynicism. “You will never understand” he blatantly retorts. Summerisle continues to explain how the island was founded by his grandfather, a “victorian rethinker.” Succinctly stated, The Wicker Man is a vendetta against the Victorian era’s repression of human sexuality.
Sadistically sensual and
surreal
Arguably the film’s most memorable scene is the hauntingly erotic musical number “Willow’s Song.” The landlord’s daughter, Willow, dances naked in her adjoining room, knocking on Howie’s wall in attempt to break the gallant constable’s code of conduct. Intercut are shots of Howie caressing the wall longingly as Willow looks directly into the camera lustfully. In cinematic terms, this is known as “breaking the fourth wall.”
French pioneer director Jean-Luc Godard, famous for breaking the fourth wall in cinema would likely approve of Hardy’s artistically unorthodox utilization of this daring formula. The result creates intense sexual energy without being overtly explicit. The song itself (composed by Anthony Shafer, also the writer of the film) is as deceptively beautiful as Willow’s nude figure cut to be a goddess, and along with other tunes like “Gently Johnny,” “Willow’s Song” is bound to stick around in audience’s memories.
Adolf Eichmann, top ranking
official of The Third Reich
During the film’s final act, Summerisle exclaims to the imprisoned Howie that “[the crops] will not fail!” (the island’s economic staple). While markedly less sinister, the emphatic strength of his unabashed conviction is reminiscent of the disturbingly de facto testimonies of infamous Nazi war criminals. In a generation where the reign of the Third Reich still remains all too fresh, this subconscious connection imposes a new layer of eeriness.
Adolf Eichmann, an infamous top ranking member of the third Reich, “remembered perfectly well that he would have had a bad conscience only if he had not done what he had been ordered to do” (Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil). This breed of sociopathic evil, far from folklore apparitions and significantly more terrifying, is consistent with the behavior of the island’s inhabitants. No werewolves, ghouls, goblins or spirits can match the terrifying inhumanity of Summerisle.
"The Citizen Kane of Horror Films"
-Cinefantastique
A poster of The Wickerman boldly frames a quote from French publication Cinefantastique, hailing it as “The Citizen Kane of horror films.” Its daring cinematic innovation, thought-provoking screenplay, superb soundtrack and some damn fine acting render this statement resoundingly true for horror fans. Fanatics of film, particularly of the horror genre, will find The Wicker Man sadistically captivating; a sin to miss.
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