The Wicker Man

February 19, 2010 - Edward Woodward flies to an isolated island in search of a missing girl. Then, things get weird in this British film from 1973. Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland also star in this cult classic which is part musical, part soft-porn and part horror flick.

Woodward plays Sgt. Howie, a straight-laced copper. He flies a police plane to a remote Scottish island after receiving a letter about a young girl who has gone missing. But, when he gets to the island and starts asking around, no one admits to knowing her.

Howie soon finds evidence that the girl did exist and, apparently, died. But, no one will fess up to knowing exactly what happened to her. As the investigation progresses, Howie is confounded by the lack of information and by the pagan fertility cult that serves as the island religion. He's put off by the overt sexuality of just about everyone, particularly the local barmaid (Ekland), and by the enigmatic answers provided by the cult leader, Lord Summerisle (Lee with a ridiculous hairstyle). Howie is most troubled by the fact that no one on the island seems troubled by the girl's disappearance.

Overall review: *** The movie starts out kind of slowly, but there's an interesting twist later on that makes you look at what happened earlier in a new light. The film is also visually interesting, especially in scenes involving cult rituals. Weird costumes and peculiar music make The Wicker Man a film that you want to keep watching even if it's simply to see what strange thing happens next.