An iconic British horror film that very nearly didn’t see the light of day is streaming for free right now on BBC iPlayer.
Starring Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, and Edward Woodward, The Wicker Man follows Sergeant Howie (Woodward) as he arrives on the remote Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate reports of a missing child.
The conservative Christian policeman is scandalised by the bizarre rituals and sexual displays from the natives, particularly those of Willow (Ekland) and Lord Summerisle (Lee)
As he gets closer to finding out what happened to the child, Howie inadvertently places himself in great peril.
Directed by Robin Hardy, it was once famously described by Cinefantastique as ‘the Citizen Kane of horror movies’ and is often lauded as one of the best genre films of all time.
The Wicker Man holds a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with the critics’ consensus reading: ‘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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In their review, Decent Films wrote: ‘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.’
London Evening Standard added: ‘You can’t help smiling at the audacity of it all and shivering a little at the feelbad ending.’
The Guardian said: ‘A British golden-oldie worthy to be placed alongside classics such as Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives or Rosemary’s Baby.’
‘The Wicker Man’s genre-bending, thematic daring, and tortuous history have made it the U.K.’s definitive cult movie,’ Village Voice stated.
But its popularity wasn’t instant. It went almost entirely under the radar when it first hit cinemas as it was released as the B picture on a double bill with Don’t Look Now.
It bombed at the box office initially in Britain and failed to gain traction in the US, but thanks to its critical acclaim, The Wicker Man became a cult classic and gained the respect it deserved.
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The Wicker Man’s release is also a marvel, given the studio British Lion’s financial troubles that almost buried it.
They also didn’t like the finished project, dismissing and refusing to promote it.
In the months after it was released, Lee called critics on the phone, begging them to come to a screening, even offering to pay for their tickets.
The film’s budget was low, and the crew behind the production was forced to gather money wherever they could to finish it.
The Wicker Man caused great turmoil in the Hardy home, with the director’s son Justin telling Metro it ‘f***ed up his family.’
After the film’s catastrophic reception, Caroline, Hardy’s wife and Justin’s mother, who had invested all her money in it, was saddled with the debts while Robin packed his suitcase and left for the US in 1974.
‘My mother was trying to get some response from him, and eventually had to divorce him on the grounds of not having heard from him’ he said.
‘My sister had to change her name from Arabella to Joanna in order to be able to survive a Banbury comprehensive. It was a pretty big, pretty seismic, social change. All these years I have had people saying to me: “God. You’re so lucky. Your dad made The Wicker Man.” But that’s not quite how I see it.
‘It was a very sad time. Because, apart from everything else, I’m going: “Well, where’s Dad? Are we going to see him tomorrow? Are we going to see him next week?” And my mother said: “I have no idea. I don’t know where he is. I don’t know how to reach him.”’
He continued: ‘I had to grow up with my sister with a very, very bitter and disappointed, quite heavily-drinking mother. When she died in 1984 in some ways, it was a sort of merciful ending to what had been a sort of horrible endurance.’
The Wicker Man is streaming now on BBC iPlayer
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