Do you want to see ‘The Wicker Man’?

The Wicker Man (1974)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.6/10
Reviews Counted: 46
Fresh: 41 | Rotten: 5

This intelligent horror film is subtle in its thrills and chills, with an ending that is both shocking and truly memorable.

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 0

This intelligent horror film is subtle in its thrills and chills, with an ending that is both shocking and truly memorable.

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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 39,065

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Movie Info

A righteous police officer investigating the disappearance of a young girl comes into conflict with the unusual residents of a secluded Scottish isle in this unsettling, intelligent chiller. Brought to the island of Summerisle by an anonymous letter, Edward Woodward's constable is surprised to discover that the island's population suspiciously denies the missing girl's very existence. Even more shocking, at least to the traditionally pious law office, the island is ruled by a libertarian society

R, 1 hr. 37 min.

Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

Directed By: Robin Hardy

Written By: Anthony Shaffer

In Theaters: Dec 1, 1973 Wide

On DVD: Jan 6, 2009

Cast

Edward Woodward
Sgt. Neil Howie
Britt Ekland
Willow
Diane Cilento
Miss Rose
Ingrid Pitt
Librarian
Christopher Lee
Lord Summerisle
Roy Boyd
Broome
Juliet Cadzow
Villager on Summerisle
Ian Campbell
Oak
Walter Carr
Schoolmaster
Michael Cole
Musician
Geraldine Cowper
Rowan Morrison
Donald Eccles
T.H. Lennox
John Hallam
Police Constable McTagg...
Lindsay Kemp
Alder MacGregor
Lesley Mackie
Daisy
Aubrey Morris
Old Gardener-Gravedigge...
John Sharp
Dr. Ewan
Elizabeth Sinclair
Villager on Summerisle
Irene Summers
May Morrison
Russell Waters
Harbour Master
John Young
Fishmonger
Peter Brewis
Musician
Ian Wilson
Communicant
Ross Campbell
Communicant
Lorraine Peters
Girl on grave
Charles Kearney
Butcher
Richard Wren
Ash Buchanan
Kevin Collins
Old Fisherman

Critic Reviews for The Wicker Man

All Critics (46) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (5) | DVD (31)

Anthony Shaffer penned the screenplay which, for sheer imagination and near-terror, has seldom been equalled.

October 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Variety Staff

Variety

Top Critic

Robin Hardy's 1973 cult horror film passed through several distributors, several versions, and several bankruptcies, picking up a powerful reputation along the way.

October 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

The Wicker Man's genre-bending, thematic daring, and tortuous history have made it the U.K.'s definitive cult movie.

August 29, 2006 Full Review Source: Village Voice

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Graham Fuller

Village Voice

Top Critic

Like many of the best horror/thrillers, The Wicker Man works because it surprises audiences, relying on carefully-nurtured suspense rather than cheap, theatrical shocks.

February 24, 2002 Full Review Source: ReelViews

| Comment

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Top Critic

Adult chiller about modern pagans -- no Hogwarts.

December 15, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment (1)

Charles Cassady

Common Sense Media

A mordant study of theological anxiety

October 10, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion

| Comment

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

The gothic ambiance and mood synonymous with the era's familiar tales of unholy menace is wholly absent. If there is evil here, it doesn't know it's evil.

October 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide

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Steven D. Greydanus

Decent Films Guide

It remains a fine example of occult horror that remains with the viewer well past its conclusion.

October 7, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

You can't help smiling at the audacity of it all and shivering a little at the feelbad ending.

August 24, 2007 Full Review Source: This is London

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Derek Malcolm

This is London

The tension occasionally goes slack, but hardly anything surpasses that clifftop finale for freakish terror.

August 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Independent

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Anthony Quinn

Independent

Part folk musical, part occult chiller, and quite mad.

August 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph

A British golden-oldie worthy to be placed alongside classics such as Ira Levin's The Stepford Wives or Rosemary's Baby.

August 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK]

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian [UK]

Devised by its star Christopher Lee, director Robin Hardy and writer Anthony Shaffer as a meditation on the rise of New Age spiritualism, the movie is now, of course, gleefully camp and a tad reactionary.

August 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Times [UK]

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Kevin Maher

Times [UK]

The ultimate British cult classic - a unique film that straddles genres, features Christopher Lee in a dress and builds toward one of cinema's most memorable climaxes.

August 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Film4

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Film4

It's a heady brew, but Hardy keep the mystery simmering, while his staging of several merrie pagan songs - and of course the chilling climax - is truly memorable.

August 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Total Film

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Total Film

The Wicker Man is, more than anything else, a film about what people can do in the name of religion or, more generally, belief. Its power comes not from appeals to the supernatural but from a deep understanding of our own undeniable nature.

August 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine

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Adam Smith

Empire Magazine

Anchor Bay Entertainment ... have now brought out their most complete edition to date ...

July 10, 2007 Full Review Source: DVD Review

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Felix Gonzalez Jr.

DVD Review

It envelops you in a time and space that is unfamiliar, fascinating, exotic, and frightening all at once.

July 10, 2007 Full Review Source: DVD Review

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Felix Gonzalez Jr.

DVD Review

The premise is quite intriguing and is certainly sinister, but it's undermined by a too-leisurely pace and musical numbers that are straight out of an x-rated fetish-fantasy as imagined by Walt Disney.

December 16, 2006 Full Review Source: About.com

| Comments (13)

Staci Layne Wilson

About.com

The newly-packaged Special Edition is so good, you'll get wood.

December 16, 2006 Full Review Source: Horror.com

| Comment

Staci Layne Wilson

Horror.com Source: Horror.com

One of best horror films ever made.

September 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment (1)

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Wicker Man

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There are some creepy ideas imbedded in the script, but the execution is un-even and silly. Most of the film is build up to a pay-off that may have been disturbing in 1974, but not anymore. Why does every critic call this a horror movie, it is more of a mystery/suspense thriller. The acting is pretty good,

October 26, 2011

Christopher Heim

Super Reviewer

I think British people automatically find this movie scarier than other nationalities for the simple fact that once you have seen it, as a British person, every creepy little village you drive through or see on the TV your head automatically whispers "Wicker Man". Masterful, timeless and ball shrinkingly creepy.

July 17, 2011