I Watch Films: The Wicker Man (2006)

 

The Wicker Man (2006)

Edward Malus (Nicholas Cage) is a police officer haunted by the death of a mysterious woman and child he met on the road. While recovering he gets a letter from Willow, his former fiancé. She needs his help as her daughter Rowan is missing.

She has returned to her home, a neo-pagan community on an island off the coast of Washington State, whose main product is honey (Malus is allergic to bee stings). The island is dominated by the women, led by Sister Summerisle. She fails to explain why the men seem listless and don’t speak, and what happens to the boy children (they prefer girls to keep the stock strong). Malus tries to investigate but things are weird and difficult to get a hang of. He follows a number of clues, discovering that they are hiding Rowan’s existence, the excuse being that when someone dies they just ignore them.

Despite Willow trying to put him off, Malus continues (it's strongly hinted to him that Rowan is his daughter). After finding clues in a crypt that suggest she was held there he comes to the conclusion that they intend to sacrifice her to improve the honey crop. He disguises himself in a bear costume to join the parade, finds Rowan and escapes with her, only to be led back to Sister Summerisle and become the sacrifice in the wicker man.

This is a puzzling and opaque remake of the 1973 classic folk horror film. Many of the inexplicable choices in this film work, in that they hint at a dream-like logic and a disjoint and confusion in the world. However they don’t work as well as the original, which this film is inevitably compared to.

Watch This: Bizarrely compelling bee-themed rural horror
Don’t Watch This: Inexplicably ham-handed re-make