Remakes and reimaginings of films have been a part the cinema since its dawn. Through all those years some have been good, some have been great, still others mediocre, and many just downright terrible. When a remake is ready to hit the screens, I face a great debate as to whether I should watch the original film if I haven't seen it, or if I should go into it with somewhat of a clean slate, without the baggage of that prior film. The Wicker Man was no different a task. Ultimately, I chose to enter it baggage-free.
The Wicker Man was a strange movie. It is a film that seems to revel in how weird it is, yet fails to truly develop any of the characters. The story moves along, barely scratching the surface of what is possible. Despite its lack of depth and ultimately silly plot, I found the potential depth to be intriguing, as well as the progression into depression and madness Nicolas Cage's character goes through. Then there is the ending, which is not in the typical Hollywood tradition, thankfully.
I am sure all of you have seen the commercials, which means you have probably seen a good portion of the opening sequence. Cage, as Officer Edward Malus, is retrieving a doll thrown from a car window and as he goes to return it, the car is struck by an oncoming tractor trailer. Sadly, this setup never really goes anywhere except to kick off Malus' depression.
The story kicks into gear when Malus receives a letter from an old flame, Willow. She tells him of her missing daughter, Rowan, and requests his help. Against his better judgement, he heads off to the remote Summerisle commune to take up the investigation.
As soon as he arrives on the island, things seem a little off. His first encounter after arriving on the island is with a group of women who deny knowing the girl, while a couple of men hold a bag containing something child-sized, which is thrashing about inside and it drips some sort of liquid. Even more than the opening car wreck, this is the table-setter. This sets the tone for the rest of the film as Edward Malus dives into this community he doesn't understand in search of a girl everyone seems intent on saying never existed.
The deeper he digs, the more opposition he faces. At each turn he is confronted with new pieces of information that don't mesh with what he had learned earlier. Who is telling the truth? What is the secret of Summersisle? Where is the little girl? All good questions, and all questions that may never be answered, if the inhabitants of the island have anything to say about it.
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Article comments
1 - Pat Evans
I have a strong suspicion that your review would have been wildly different if you had seen the original film.
2 - Catana
I second that. As laughable as some part of the original may be, it's a classic, and everything I've read about the remake says "stay away, far, far, away." Some remakes are just that. Others are violations. I will never watch Tom Hanks' version of The Lady Killers for that reason.
3 - Mohjho
What made the original so much fun was it was so...British. I always suspected that behind the English stoicism was a heart of Celtic pagan horror.
Wonder if this movie will have the same feel?
4 - duane
Also, what made the original so unique and ... uh ... original, was the music score. A bunch of sweet little kids singsonging around the maypole was so 180 to the guessed at underlying horror and depravity.
Then there was Britt Ekland.