The Wicker Man (2006)
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A police officer searching for a missing girl on a remote island discovers a community of neo-pagans with sinister intentions.
The story
Police officer Edward Malus is contacted by his ex-fiancée, Willow Woodward, who reports that her daughter Rowan has disappeared. Edward travels to an island in the Puget Sound off the coast of Washington to investigate. Upon arrival, he encounters a community of neo-pagans led by an elderly woman named Sister Summersisle. As Edward probes the village for information regarding the missing girl, he begins to suspect that the inhabitants harbor sinister motives and secrets regarding their pagan practices.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Policeman Edward Malus travels to an island in the Puget Sound to find his ex-fiancée's missing daughter, Rowan. The island is inhabited by neo-pagans led by Sister Summersisle, who explains their history of fleeing persecution from England to the Salem area before settling on the island. Edward notices a declining honey production and finds a grave containing only a burned doll, eventually discovering Rowan's sweater. After a tense interaction with a teacher, Sister Rose, who cryptically suggests Rowan 'burned to death,' Edward learns from Willow that Rowan is their daughter. During a fertility rite, Edward joins a parade in a bear suit. He finds Rowan tied to a tree and rescues her, but she leads him back to Sister Summersisle. It is revealed that the search was a setup: Willow (Sister Willow) chose Edward as a human sacrifice to restore the island's honey production after he destroyed their beehives. Edward is hoisted into an enormous wicker man and burned alive as Rowan sets it on fire. Six months later, Sisters Willow and Honey meet two policemen in a Seattle bar and volunteer to go home with them.
- First release year
- 2006
- Runtime (minutes)
- 102
- Production countries
- United States; Germany
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Neil LaBute
- Writers
- Neil LaBute · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Nicolas Cage · Edward Malus; Ellen Burstyn · Sister Summersisle; Kate Beahan · Sister Willow; Frances Conroy · Sister Rose; Molly Parker · Honey; Leelee Sobieski · Rowan; Diane Delano · Sister Willow
- Genres
- folk horror; mystery; horror; thriller; black comedy; dystopian; religious horror
- Themes
- Human sacrifice; Neopaganism; Persecution; Religious cults
- Tone and mood
- Puzzling; Unintentional comedy; Creepy; Absurd
- Premise and plot tags
- Remake; Mystery; Horror; Cult; Human Sacrifice; Police Procedural
- Source material / true-story basis
- David Pinner's 1967 novel Ritual
- Franchise connections
- The Wicker Man
- Content notes
- Torture
- Reception
- The film was a box-office bomb and received largely negative reviews from critics, with some describing it as 'entertainingly bad' or 'puzzlingly misguided.'
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 3.7/10 · scale: 10 · review count: 107; Metacritic · score: 36 · scale: 100 · review count: 19
- Awards and nominations
- Best Cinematography · Canadian Society of Cinematographers · Win
- Production trivia
- The film was shot on location in British Columbia, Canada, largely on Bowen Island.; The original film's director, Robin Hardy, had his lawyers make Warner Bros. Pictures remove his name from the remake's promotional material.; A scene exclusive to the unrated version of the film, where Nicolas Cage's character gets tortured by bees, as well a separate scene where he discovers the burned doll have become internet memes.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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