SteinMo
What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.
Guillelmina
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Logan
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
bowmanblue
In short: why bother? Yes, the original Wicker Man was a classic. Yes, the remake was completely pointless (and that's being kind). So... here we have a (semi) sequel to the original Wicker Man. And, if you look closely at the promotional material, you'll notice that it even has good ol' Christopher Lee in it. So, it must be good... right? Wrong.The first thing you should know is that Christopher Lee's 'input' is literally less than a minute long. The film is almost a remake (in as much as there's nothing new in the story, so it's basically a retread of the old version). Two American Christians come to a small village on the Scotland/England border to help spread the word of God.If you've seen either of the Wicker Man films you'll know what happens. If you haven't, you'll probably guess.The acting is poor all round, some of it bordering on comedy. The 'horror' is lacking. No gore here and the 'traumatic' scenes from the original are not even nearly repeated here.Simply don't bother with this. It adds nothing to the original except to cash in on its reputation. Even if you haven't seen the original, don't expect an interesting horror film here. Just don't bother. Did I mention it's not that good?
tomsview
Did we really think writer/director Robin Hardy could better "The Wicker Man", that masterpiece of horror, which along with William Friedkin's "The Exorcist" defined the genre in the 1970's? It was a tall order, but he did come up with one surprise - he more or less repeated himself.A couple of born-again Christians, 'Cowboys for Christ', Beth Boothby (Brittania Nicol) and Steve Thompson (Henry Garrett), cross the Atlantic on a mission to spread the Lord's word to the spiritually challenged flock in Scotland. After meeting a local laird, Sir Lachlan Morrison (Graham McTavish), they are directed to Tressock, a community that has an infertility problem caused by a leak from a nuclear power plant.The innocent couple become central to the town's May Day festivities, involving human sacrifice to get the community's seed germinating again. All conspire against them except for Lolly (Honeysuckle Weeks), the head groom on Sir Lachlan's estate.We know how it will end because there was no mercy for Edward Woodward in the first version so we don't expect any for Beth and Steve in this one.The problem with knowing the basic premise is that the only tension comes in seeing how the ritual will be carried out. However, for some reason, Hardy holds back - we see nothing that compares to the anguish of Edward Woodward locked in his blazing wicker prison in the 1973 film. The Wicker Tree itself is an artistic looking number, but it doesn't project the menace of the giant wicker cage of the original.Where the "The Wicker Tree" breaks from "The Wicker Man" is in the attempts at black humour; the naive Beth and Steve are treated as somewhat comic characters, as is Beame, Sir Lachlan's head man, who is involved in a number of jocular bits of business such as being stabbed up the kilt with a broken glass; it's hard to know quite how to take this movie as it changes mood at odd times.The film doubles up on a couple of elements from the original, namely the number of sacrifices and the amount of nudity. Honeysuckle Weeks sheds her "Foyle's War" khakis and everything else for a couple of airy romps, including a brave effort in a chilly Scottish stream.Although it's nice to see Christopher Lee back for a little homage, the biggest problem with "The Wicker Tree" is that it pays just too much homage to the original movie. The most important sacrifice of all would have entailed letting go of the old plot and heading off in a new direction.Instead of a lop-sided remake, maybe a follow-up to the original would have been a better option - by 2011, the number of disappearances on Summerisle would have reached epic proportions with the supply of wicker also running dangerously low. At least that approach may have provided a few surprises.
twokeets
My husband and I stumbled upon this movie on TV late last night, and were really enjoying it at the beginning. We enjoyed the Pagan elements of the story, and the friskiness of the storyline. Knowing nothing about this film, we assumed, in fact, that this movie was a lighthearted tale, showing the folly of the young Christians trying to convert the determined Pagan folk. The tone of the film up until about the last half hour is light and sexy and humorous, which made us really like it. Then it suddenly veers into a much darker place, and the tone becomes like that of a good old vintage '70's horror movie. So basically my complaint is the sudden change in tone. It is true that the film seemed a bit superficial, but it was also pretty funny. It could have been improved by deepening the story somehow. And I guess I felt a little unsatisfied at the end, because of the shift in tone. But I still say it is worth viewing, especially if you like Wicker Man-type stories. This is definitely not the Wicker Man, as it is pretty humorous for most of the movie. Maybe that is why Wicker Man (the original) is so effective--it maintained the same ominous tone from the beginning of the movie. But, in conclusion, I have to say I enjoyed watching this movie for what it as. And if you enjoy watching a beautiful naked woman pray to the goddess from the middle of a lovely Scottish stream, you will enjoy it too.
TdSmth5
A Christian country singer and her cowboy boyfriend go on an evangelizing mission to Scotland. They abstain from sex until they are married. They end up in some country small town run by a rich couple who own the local nuclear plant. The town's inhabitants are pagans who worship a variety of gods and the sun. But the rich couple sponsor concerts which gives our country couple the chance to sell their religion. And the town goes along with it.Strangely, there are almost no kids in the town. One friendly local lady is desperately trying to get pregnant by the local cop. She also ends up seducing the cowboy.May Day is also approaching and our singer is elected May Queen and the cowboy her Laddie. But we get hints that something isn't right in this town. For some reason that isn't clear, the singer is almost poisoned by the butler. Since that doesn't work, he ends up drugging her and preparing her body in oils for some purpose which we discover later but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense either. At least the surprising fate of the cowboy is explained a bit better.The Wicker Tree oddly doesn't manage to capture the strangeness of the pagan towns people at all. And there is no sense of the dread in the least. The movie doesn't know how to generate any excitement or build- up toward the resolution. Our country couple is too goofy to be taken serious. He's the kind of cowboy who sleeps with his cowboy hat on. She doesn't contribute much to the story except for songs and innocence. And there are a lot of songs in this movie. Most are actually pleasant even though I despise anything that resembles a musical. In one of the few smart lines in the movie she asks the pagans if they don't have a song for what just happened. If you want to make a movie like this you can't just settle for lameness and mediocrity. The themes are interesting and suited for something edgier, darker. If anything it's an opportunity to make a unique stronger movie.
