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This intelligent horror film is subtle in its thrills and chills, with an ending that is both shocking and truly memorable.
All Critics (52) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (6) | DVD (16)
Anthony Shaffer penned the screenplay which, for sheer imagination and near-terror, has seldom been equalled. Oct 7, 2008 | Full Review…
Anthony Shaffer penned the screenplay which, for sheer imagination and near-terror, has seldom been equalled.
Variety Staff
Robin Hardy's 1973 cult horror film passed through several distributors, several versions, and several bankruptcies, picking up a powerful reputation along the way. Oct 7, 2008 | Full Review…
Robin Hardy's 1973 cult horror film passed through several distributors, several versions, and several bankruptcies, picking up a powerful reputation along the way.
Dave Kehr
You can't help smiling at the audacity of it all and shivering a little at the feelbad ending. Aug 24, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
You can't help smiling at the audacity of it all and shivering a little at the feelbad ending.
Derek Malcolm
A British golden-oldie worthy to be placed alongside classics such as Ira Levin's The Stepford Wives or Rosemary's Baby. Aug 24, 2007 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…
A British golden-oldie worthy to be placed alongside classics such as Ira Levin's The Stepford Wives or Rosemary's Baby.
Peter Bradshaw
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. Aug 24, 2007 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
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.
Kevin Maher
The Wicker Man's genre-bending, thematic daring, and tortuous history have made it the U.K.'s definitive cult movie. Aug 29, 2006 | Full Review…
The Wicker Man's genre-bending, thematic daring, and tortuous history have made it the U.K.'s definitive cult movie.
Graham Fuller
An exploitative mystery horror film in which Edward Woodward overacts his heart out. Apr 8, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…
An exploitative mystery horror film in which Edward Woodward overacts his heart out.
Wesley Lovell
Its mysteries rely not on easy gimmicks, but on a process of intellectual unfolding carried out jointly by Howie and the viewer. All of this takes place against a context or texture of haunting eeriness. Feb 22, 2019 | Full Review…
Its mysteries rely not on easy gimmicks, but on a process of intellectual unfolding carried out jointly by Howie and the viewer. All of this takes place against a context or texture of haunting eeriness.
Rick Chatenever
A slow burn of a horror film portraying cynicism and paranoia that's as effective as our belief of its possibility. It's just plain weird and great. [Full review in Spanish]. Feb 18, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
A slow burn of a horror film portraying cynicism and paranoia that's as effective as our belief of its possibility. It's just plain weird and great. [Full review in Spanish].
Federico Furzan
A genius conflation of the on-screen pagan versus Christian (and provincial versus federal) dichotomies into an equally combustible cinematographic battle of the sensibilities Nov 10, 2018 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
A genius conflation of the on-screen pagan versus Christian (and provincial versus federal) dichotomies into an equally combustible cinematographic battle of the sensibilities
PJ Nabarro
Christopher Lee, who plays the lord of the island, thinks it's one of the finest films he's ever made -- and he's right. Oct 7, 2013 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…
Christopher Lee, who plays the lord of the island, thinks it's one of the finest films he's ever made -- and he's right.
Alan Jones
A truly unique horror movie, one of the odd handful throughout history that doesn't really seem to have been influenced by anything and has no obvious heirs, not even its own remake. May 2, 2012 | Rating: 10/10 | Full Review…
A truly unique horror movie, one of the odd handful throughout history that doesn't really seem to have been influenced by anything and has no obvious heirs, not even its own remake.
Tim Brayton
This popular British cult film follows a devout Christian policeman to an island where the locals are all believers of some ancient pagan Earth god. And "horrors". That's it. The shocker. An island of sex fertility nuts. Atmospheric and moody, it's those charms that carry the thing. It's different, that's for sure.
Super Reviewer
Extremely audacious for the time it came out, this creepy cult classic should be remembered for the many intelligent questions it raises about religious intolerance and blind faith, while offering us also a memorable performance by Christopher Lee and a terrifying, unforgettable ending.
Unusual to be sure. An unsettling drama with mystical overtones, excellent performances.
It's very difficult to have anything incisive to say about this horror film, because it is so strange and otherworldly. An English policeman, who has rigorous moral and religious attitudes, arrives at a secluded island where a town of people celebrates public sex and nudity, sexual education, and unconventional methods of communication and discourse. The policeman finds these heathens wanting and tells them so at every opportunity. He is looking for a missing child, who he believes has been murdered by this island of cultists, and so he has little patience for them. Throughout the movie there are interspersed scenes of sexual congress in the fields of the lush isle, and gleeful pagan music. There's no religion, which chafes the officer, and lends to outbursts aimed at all manner of people. It's strange that he has no patience for these people, when they exist throughout England, but it does lend to a tension that keeps us guessing throughout the entire film. The twist was obvious from the outset, and the symbolism of these pagans leans more towards fanatical Christianity's worst fear, but otherwise it was definitely an unsettling film.
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