With the coming of May it is time for me to re-watch one of my favorite horror films 1973’s The Wicker Man. Starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee The Wicker Man in so many ways of quintessentially an early 70s film, low budget, stuffed with ideas and deeply cynical. Because I was already comfortably nestled in my overstuffed chair instead of using my Blu-ray edition of the film with the most recent edits and restorations, I watched the version currently available for streaming. This is the abbreviated edit compressing the events into just two days from three and with several scenes deleted.

Scottish West Highland police, and deeply devote Christian, Sergeant Neil Howie (Woodward) arrives by seaplane to the isolated island of Summerisle following am anonymous letter that a young girl has gone missing. The residents lie, misled, and confuse Howie with shifting narrative from there is no such girl to the girl had died. The islanders are also fervently pagan worshipping the old god of pre-Christian Europe offending the pious policeman. Lord Summerisle (Lee), the island’s leader, is convinced that Howie’s suspicions of murder are misplaced as they are a deeply religious people. Convinced the girl’s disappearance is tied to the pagan practices and with his seaplane sabotaged Howie is forced confronts the conspiracy alone in a desperate race again time and the coming May Day celebrations.

The Wicker Man is a unique film, simultaneously inhabiting the genres of folk horror, art house film, and musical while maintaining a consistent tone of dread. The production was troubled and the sale of the studio before completion led the final product being hacked down to 88 minutes without any real regard to story or quality. Over the decades various versions of the film have surfaced and been restored but the original edit has never been found and the original negative are believed destroyed, making The Wicker Man an enduring cinematic myth. Lee long maintained that he loved the script so much he appeared for free and that it was his favorite screen performance. Director Robin Hardy returned to Summerisle decades later for the sequel The Wicker Tree but failed to recapture the glorious magic of early seventies film. 2006 witnessed a remake of the film starring Nicholas Cage as the investigating officer but the sly and subtle conflict of culture theme was replaced with what many consider to be blatant misogyny.

No matter what version you watch The Wicker Man remains one of the most interesting, unique, and enigmatic movies.

The Wicker Man is currently streaming on Shudder and Amazon Prime.