Why the Wicker Man is best left on Summerisle
6 June 2006
The classic horror film, the Wicker Man, is due to be remade. The new version will be set in America, of course, and Nicholas Cage will take on the role of Sergeant Neil Howie, originally played by Edward Woodward. And who could ever take on the role of Lord Summerisle, which was superbly played by Christopher Lee?
Competing with the original, which is ranked as one of the best horror films of all time, will be near impossible. The full horror of the final outcome slowly dawns on the viewer in almost total disbelief. Now we know the ending, the power of the original will be lost, even if the remade film is perfect.
My main gripe though, is that the original Wicker Man is so much of its time. Filmed in 1972 and screened in 1973, it captures the essence of the early seventies so completely that any remake will be hopelessly wide of the mark. The haunting sound track of folk music is firmly routed in the past - the early seventies to be precise. The original film carries a strong warning against rejecting accepted beliefs and becoming too immersed in the customs of the ancient times. It is a warning that belongs to the first few of years of the seventies. Folk music, time- honoured customs and traditional crafts were being rediscovered then. It was the time of maxi skirts, Hornsea pottery and the beginning of the Campaign for Real Ale. It is a time almost as remote from us now as the Scottish Island on which the Wicker Man is set.
So please, leave the Wicker Man on Summerisle in 1973.
Go to: