The Wicker Man (1973) - Review 

The Exorcist is often called "the scariest movie of all time" which sets up unfair expectations. I love both films but personally prefer The Wicker Man.

I agree that it's also a very pivotal scene, it's our introduction to the antagonist of the film. What a shame they left it off the theatrical release, it's a great Christopher Lee monologue for sure.

Thanks! It's one of my favorites as well, this review was sort of a passion project for me, there really isn't much like The Wicker Man, it's such a strange and compelling film. I agree Midsommar was a little too long and drawn out but still had an eerie beauty to it. Also Ari Aster's upcoming film definitely looks interesting to say the least.

Tom Tryon's Harvest Home was really creepy also.

The fact that the name of the hymn fits in with the theme of the movie is quite interesting, thanks for bringing it to me attention! Also very cool that you were involved in one of my favorite movies!

Hey thanks, it really means a lot! It's definitely a top film for me too and I had been wanting to talk about it for a long time.

@@LeoFromEarthZero Its definitely a classic just subscribed I’ll be watching

If it is put into the bracket of a "horror" film then for me it is definitely top 3 alongside Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist imo...

@@nigelw7626 Those are definitely top tier horror films for sure. I love the style of late 60's and early 70's horror movies in particular, they're just very natural looking.

wont disagree with you, i must have watched the wicker man at least 30 times. also try if you havnt watched it ‘blood on satans claw’. made around the same time and classed as the wicker man a folk horror.

Thank you so much! I haven't seen either one but I'll have to check them out as I'm always on the lookout for new horror films. The recommendation is much appreciated!

They're one of my favorite bands for sure! There's a documentary out on Apple + which I haven't seen yet but I'm going to try and watch it soon.

If there are VHS copies with the missing scenes, I really wish someone would just upload them to RU-vid for the sake of film preservation! Thank you for the information, the investigation continues...

Thanks! I'm glad you appreciate the interview clips, I think it gave the review more depth to include them. I remember working pretty hard on this video so I'm happy it's still picking up views!

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. There's certainly a lot to talk about with the different versions in circulation. I still wonder if there's another cut out there that we're missing out on...

@@LeoFromEarthZero it would be cool to see that apple scene!

@@creativecatproductions Christopher Lee seemed to think it existed somewhere in some form but I couldn't find clips anywhere. It does add some mystery to the film's production that makes for an interesting story though.

I think the book Ritual that The Wicker Man was loosely based on contains a more direct Giallo storyline than the film but you're absolutely right about a lot of those Giallo tropes being at play here. I hesitate to spoil the book in any major way because the twist at the end is different there. I think writing about the Giallo angle should make for a very engaging analysis of the film. The Suspiria comparison makes sense with it's occult references but I actually haven't seen Blood and Black Lace yet. I did watch Mario Bava's the Girl Who Knew Too Much AKA Evil Eye when I reviewed Malignant because of the Giallo elements there. I had never heard of Berberian Sound Studio but I always appreciate recommendations! In The Wicker Man there actually isn't a mysterious killer going around picking off victims but the framework of the setup hits all the right marks. I'd recommend watching The Girl Who Knew Too Much because it's widely considered the first Giallo film and check out Dario Argento's first film The Bird with the Crystal Plumage too. That should be a good entry point to lead you into the weirder stuff. I myself am also a student of film and wouldn't consider myself an expert though I'm learning more every day. I started writing movie reviews about a year and a half ago and I feel like I'm just finding my voice so keep at it and you'll get there. Whether reading a script on or off camera, or talking loosely with notes, it takes a lot of practice to come across more natural doing it. If you've never done a video review, I recommend keeping all film clips under ten seconds or even 8 seconds to avoid content ID. If you're going to film yourself in front of the camera then invest in a small monitor so you can check your framing and lighting because my material in front of the camera started looking a lot better after I hooked up my camera to my computer and then mirrored it on my tv so I could check the footage while still in front of the camera. This might be obvious but I figured I'd share my experience. Take your time to make the best video you can and I'll be looking forward to it!

@@LeoFromEarthZero no it's not obvious or anything like that, thank you so much for the advice! The 8-10 second thing especially; I went back to the Suspiria vid on youtube and it was claimed -_- so ridiculous, but expected~ I definitely need all the help I can, and you've provided a lot of entry points both for material/analysis and technical production, so it *really* is appreciated. Idk if you'd appreciate their politics or not but I really, really like creators like Contrapoints and Atun-Shei films (also a film guy!) They do sets and costumes and mock-debates between themselves, it's super interesting. I especially like how Contrapoints incorporates musical performances into her vids; in fact I bought myself the Wicker Man songbook despite barely being able to play guitar/piano. So definitely a long term goal but hey without goals it's difficult to know what you're working towards. Will check out your channel and look forward to future uploads. peace!!

​@@thebrushdescendsthelength I'm always willing to offer some advice based on my experience so far. Just let me know! I've actually been watching Atun-Shei films for a little while now. His videos are well researched and quite funny too. I've only recently become aware of Contrapoints because of some Twitter drama with the streamer Vaush but from what I've seen her videos are really in depth and incredibly well produced. I stray away from making political content myself because it can be so divisive and I'm just trying to bring people together to have fun talking about films however I do like to check out political discourse channels. It's good to hear you have a lot of goals in life. There are always new skills to learn as long as you stay motivated, which isn't always easy. I'm a musician myself and even after 2 decades of playing guitar I'm still learning new chord changes and improving my compositions. Thanks for the discussion and good luck with your journey ahead!

@@LeoFromEarthZero yeah lol, twitter can be really toxic! I know a little bit about that drama but stay away as much as possible; social media algorithms really bring out the worst in people. Anyway, best of luck with the channel (and learning new chord changes)!!

Thanks for the comment! There's a lot of historical information packed in there. I love it! Those are cool links too, I had never heard Skipinnish before but I'm definitely digging the traditional Scottish sound. I'm reading about Kirkcudbright now and based on the architecture of the houses I can definitely see how scenes from the film were shot there. It's a beautiful town and apparently a great place for artists too. Cheers!

@@LeoFromEarthZero Ah yeah is impressive, very close to there is Dumfries (the whole area is Dumfries and Galloway) where before he succeeded John Balliol, Robert Bruce stabbed John Comyn in the chest at the kirk in Dumfries. Is shown in the Outlaw King movie about after Wallace's execution and their first victory at Loudoun Hill. Is about where Clan Bruce land was as well, though prior to then was Gisborough as its spelt now, formerly Guisborough in now North Yorkshire where they first moved to from Normandy

I really enjoyed Midsommar but I'll have to check out Kill List. I like to find out about under appreciated movies. Thanks for the recommendation!

@@LeoFromEarthZero No problem! Curious to see what you think of it. Just know this…it won’t be like you think, so don’t have any expectations going in

The longest version I could find was 99 minutes. Most DVD copies I've found here in the US are the 88 minute version. Then there's the version that has both nights at the Green Man Inn which is about 93 minutes. The mainland scenes in the 99 minute version provide some important context but the film quality doesn't match the rest of the movie at all . They should at least be included as deleted scenes on all releases for historical purposes. I didn't know about a missing scene between Howie and Rowan's mother though, that's interesting to hear. (It might be in the 99 minute version and I failed to notice it.) I'm always in search of more missing footage but I haven't found any copies for sale that are listed as 102 minutes. That doesn't mean that it's not out there somewhere, perhaps I'll stumble across it one day... Thanks for the comment!

@@LeoFromEarthZero Well it is in the versions I have seen but it is severely edited . It is in the 3rd act and May Morrison and Sgt Howie have a debate . He says” My God what kind of mother are you ! “ She ends the scene with “ You simply will not understand the true nature of sacrifice “

@@dagnabbit6187 Ok I know the scene you're talking about where she's cutting up the cake. I was unaware that it was originally a longer scene but I'm not surprised with so many different versions in existence!

Thanks for the comment and the sub. Glad you enjoyed the review!

You don't ride the town bike

@@homelesshannah50 I do LOL

From what I've read The Wicker Man was so low budget that Lee offered to appear in the movie for free because he loved the part and the idea of the film. He was coming off the Dracula films and apparently wasn't hurting for money. I'm not sure about the details of his contract or if he regretted this decision later but he didn't seem too upset in the interviews I've seen.

@@LeoFromEarthZero That certainly sounds very plausible. Perhaps he agreed to do it for expenses only.

Apparently Arnold did Maggie for free because he liked the script to much

He had a contract to be in the movie, and the contract said he was not to be paid that was up to him. He did not want to be paid for the movie because he loved the script so much so it had to be included in the contract.

LOL you must be thinking of Terry Silver, the over the top villain from Karate Kid 3 with the long hair! I only wish I could be that cool...

@@LeoFromEarthZero yes played by Ian Griffith you resemble just like him lol if you sent a photo for a screen test I'm 100 Percent positive they would have hired you to play him in the cobra kai flash backs I didn't like the sequel but part stands out because of this main character he oozes evil a demon personafied Hollywood should have used him in more action movies like a brother of Bruce Payne from passenger 57 , your review of this movie is excellent and informative have you seen Dustin Hoffman's Straw dogs or the Linda Hayden movie house on strawhill aka expose they are from the same period , your extremely to resemble Sutch a talented actor I on the other hand have been told I resemble Eli walach lol

@@Dinvadbhatmarathi98 I guess I missed my chance to break into Hollywood LOL. Eli Walach played a great bad guy too, I guess we both missed our chance! Thanks for watching the review, glad it was an informative one! Surprisingly, I've never seen Straw Dogs, I had a friend that was really into that movie back in high school but I never saw it somehow. I suppose I should probably get around to watching it. I hadn't heard of House on Strawhill but after looking it up, I see Udo Kier is in it and I really enjoy Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein which he starred in. I'll have to check that one out too!

@@LeoFromEarthZero thank you for the reply if you live those movies then I suggest mark of the devil also starring udo kier and the great Herbert lom, think of Vincent prices movie Witch finder General and add more Gore to it was I think a video nasty in the United Kingdom and was either band or cut by the bbfc, , if I lived in the state's I'd definitely take a trip to the Amityville long Island and venture to Ocean ave , have you seen Amityville 2 the possession starring Burt young it's extremely frightening movie

@@Dinvadbhatmarathi98 Those are some great suggestions! I'll have to add Mark of the Devil to my list, I've never seen Amityville 2 either, only the first one which I do enjoy. There's something about the look of 70's horror that I really like, I've been focusing on new movies lately but would love to get around to talking about some more of the classics.

The thing about great art is that we can interpret it differently. I found Howie as a character to be rigid and unreasonable and I found Lord Summerisle to be the same way. I did mention that Howie was engaged to be married in the film although the scene where it's explicitly stated that he's a virgin is cut out of the theatrical release. Also in the book the police officer character is the one murdering people around the island because he has a mental disorder so using the source material doesn't really help your argument there. I don't think this film is meant to have a pro Christian or pro Pagan message. Before the film's conclusion, the pagans are basically just a bunch of hippies playing music and having sex. I don't hold any judgements about those activities. The pagans do commit murder at the end so ultimately they're portrayed in a more negative light but I think Howie is also a very flawed and judgmental character. He believes his religion to be superior and can't accept that theirs is different. It's true that he is not as extreme as Lord Summerisle in his dogma but his attitude towards their religion is condescending and invasive which leads to his downfall. I do appreciate that you see this film differently than I do as I'm sure we're approaching it from very different perspectives. Thanks for checking out the review!

Howie absolutely does attack their beliefs, multiple times. This is well before anyone learns about them being murderers. He’s offended at the open sexuality and lack of Jesus, and attempts to shame them for this

Always love a good Simpsons reference.

@@LeoFromEarthZero Dang, you're good. Subscribed.

@@SDChargersFreak Thank you very much!