The Wicker Man (1973) has some good reviews on IMdB. I left my thoughts on the forum there after watching it for the first time on TV. It stars Edward Woodward as Sergeant Howie, who is investigating the disappearance of a young girl on a mysterious island with a close community of pagan people. The pagan nature of the islanders slowly becomes more evident as the story goes on.

I tried, I really tried to involve myself seriously in the strange slow-moving plot, but soon found myself sniggering in all the wrong places. Maybe the 70's idea of horror is a bit dated now or something...

Maybe it was the unexpected singing, or the strange spectacle of naked Britt Ekland rubbing herself against a wall. Maybe it was the playful frolicking of the Morris-dancer dragon person with the big red skirt. Maybe it was the sight of the little man in the fool costume getting knocked unconscious by the policeman in the middle of singing to himself ("La la la la la - AAAGGHHH!!!!")... maybe it was the sight of Christopher Lee in drag, prancing along a hillside path (looking a bit like Neil of the Young Ones), being followed by swaying revellers in animal masks. Whatever it was, I could not stop laughing. Every time the dragon creature with the big red skirt appeared again, that was it, I was off again.

Only the burning scene at the end was disturbing, especially when the policeman can hear the distressed animals screaming beneath him as the flames rise. I gave up trying to read anything profound into the meaning of the film. It does have a huge cult value.

This film was mostly an amusing flight of fancy. I am going to try to get a DVD of it from somewhere, now I've seen it on TV... for when I need a good laugh. A great film to watch after a few beers, when it all suddenly makes perfect sense.

I saw this movie a long time ago, and when I caught it again on cable TV recently, I was shocked at how "70's" it looked... dated and comical in many ways. Pinky is so right, Christopher Lee is a hoot in some scenes! Britt Ekland has a hot nude scene in which she rather comically tries to seduce the policeman from the other side of his bedroom wall. The final scene is still pretty shocking and well done, in large part because Edward Woodward is such a great actor, and because it's in such stark contrast to the mood of the film before it.

Pinky, thanks for the reminder about this cool and kooky film, even as old as it is, it's still far better than the recent version with Nicholas Cage. For a cool, creepy Nic Cage movie I'd recommend "8mm" instead.

Lol,well,seeing Britt Eckland prancing around in the altogether is hardly unusual-she did love to flash it every chance she got

I've been a fan of the film since I was a small child,it was never really intended to be a 'scary' horror film,though it was obviously not intended to be a comedy either

It' was meant to be 'disturbing' and 'unsettling' rather than frightening,playing mainly on the supposed 'social outrage' at the time over a percieved 'breakdown of morality' in society,this theme being heavily played on with the (yeah,ok,hilarious)dance by Eckland,the sex in the graveyard scene,the ruined church and graveyard,murderous whoring pagans torturing the niave chaste christian,etc.

You're right,it's impossible to take Lee in drag seriously  There's men it works for...he's not one of them And it made almost no use of Woodwards talents as the policeman.He was a very versatile actor,but given such a limited role...

Really the remake with Nicolas Cage is the far better film,that one does have a definate 'creepy' element to it(and a far more accurate representation of how such a sacrifice would probably been performed),but I've a real soft spot still for the original