The Wicker Man (2006 film)

The Wicker Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Neil LaBute
Produced by	Nicolas Cage Avi Lerner
Screenplay by	Neil Labute
Based on	The Wicker Man  by Robin Hardy Anthony Shaffer Ritual  by David Pinner
Starring	Nicolas Cage Ellen Burstyn Kate Beahan Frances Conroy Leelee Sobieski Molly Parker Diane Delano
Music by	Angelo Badalamenti
Cinematography	Paul Sarossy
Editing by	Joel Plotch
Studio	Alcon Entertainment Saturn Films Equity Pictures Millennium Films
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures Sony Pictures (international)
Release date(s)	September 1, 2006 (2006-09-01)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$40 million
Box office	$38,755,073

The Wicker Man is a 2006 American remake of the 1973 British horror film of the same title. It was written and directed by Neil LaBute, based on a screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, and stars Nicolas Cage.

Plot

Policeman Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) receives news from his ex-fiancée, Willow Woodward (Kate Beahan), that their daughter, Rowan (Erika Shaye Gair), is missing. He gets a pilot (Matthew Walker) to take him to an island off the coast of Washington where a group of neo-pagans live.

The island is led by Sister Summersisle (Ellen Burstyn), an elderly woman who is treated like a goddess. Sister Summerside explains to Malus that her ancestors had left England to avoid persecution, only to settle near Salem and find renewed persecution, before arriving on this island. Sister Summerside explains that their population is predominately female as they choose the strongest stock—evading Malus's concern about the birth of unwanted males. The economy of the island relies on the production of local honey, which Malus learns has declined recently.

Malus asks the villagers about Rowan, but they give him evasive answers. He later sees two men carrying a large bag that appears to be dripping blood, then he finds a fresh, unmarked grave in the churchyard. The grave turns out to only contain a burned doll, but Malus finds Rowan's sweater in the churchyard.

At the village school, teacher Sister Rose (Molly Parker) tries to prevent Malus from seeing the class register. When he sees that Rowan's name has been crossed out he becomes enraged at the teacher's and Rowan's classmates' lies. Rose demands Malus talk outside and, after a short discussion of the island people's view of death, Rose explains that Rowan is "letting it snow". Malus asks how Rowan died and Sister Rose tells him first that "She'll burn to death". When Malus catches the tense she used, Sister Rose corrects herself quickly, saying, "She burned to death," and rushes back to her class.

On the day of the ritual, Malus frantically searches the village for Rowan. He attacks Sister Beech (Diane Delano), who has a bear costume for the ritual. Malus then incapacitates Sister Honey (Leelee Sobieski), dons the bear costume and joins the parade led by Sister Summersisle.

The parade ends at the site of the festival. Rowan is tied to a large tree, about to be burned. Malus rescues Rowan and they run away through the woods, but Rowan leads him back to Sister Summersisle. Sister Summersisle thanks Rowan for her help, and Malus realizes that the search for Rowan was a trap. Sister Willow is Sister Summersilse's daughter, and his fate was sealed many years ago, when Sister Willow chose him. The villagers attack Malus and overpower him. The women carry him to a giant wicker man and shut him inside. Rowan sets fire to the wicker man and Malus is sacrificed. The crowd chants "The drone must die!", believing that Malus's sacrifice will restore their honey production.

Six months later, Sisters Willow and Honey enter a bar and start talking with two off duty police officers (James Franco and Jason Ritter). The women invite them to go home with them, presumably in hopes of luring them just as Malus was. The buzzing of bees and screaming from Edward Malus can be heard as the film fades to black.

Cast

• Nicolas Cage as Edward Malus
• Ellen Burstyn as Sister Summersisle
• Kate Beahan as Sister Willow
• Leelee Sobieski as Sister Honey
• Frances Conroy as Dr. Moss
• Molly Parker as Sister Rose / Sister Thorn
• Diane Delano as Sister Beech
• Erika Shaye Gair as Rowan
• Michael Wiseman as Pete
• Aaron Eckhart as Truck Stop Patron
• George Murphy as The Head Villager
• James Franco and Jason Ritter as Bar Guys

Reception

As of November 16, 2006, the worldwide box office receipts for the film totalled $32,259,395 with $23,649,127 of the receipts earned in North America.

Upon release, the film received mainly negative reviews from film critics. The film holds a 15% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 105 reviews. The consensus says, "Puzzlingly misguided, Neil LaBute's update The Wicker Man struggles against unintentional comedy and fails." On At the Movies, the film received two thumbs down from Richard Roeper and Aisha Tyler. The film garnered five Razzie Award nominations, for Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Cage), Worst Screenplay, Worst Remake, and Worst On-Screen Couple (Cage and his bearsuit).

However, a few film critics, such as Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, saw the film in a more positive light, with Gleiberman saying that director Neil LaBute brought some "innovation" over the original film.

The original film's director, Robin Hardy, had expressed skepticism over the Hollywood remake, and had his lawyers make Warner Bros. remove his name from the remake's promotional material. According to Hardy, he was given writing credit for the screenplay, when he had not received any for the original. Christopher Lee, who played Lord Summerisle in the original film, said about his former role in the remake: "What do I think of it being played by a woman, when it was played by a man in 1972, as part of a Scottish pagan community, and now it's played by a woman with the same name? What do I think of it? Nothing. There's nothing to say."

Cage himself acknowledged that the movie was "absurd." He remarked in 2010: "There is a mischievous mind at work on The Wicker Man, you know? You know what I mean? And I finally kind of said, 'I might have known that the movie was meant to be absurd.' But saying that now after the fact is OK, but to say it before the fact is not, because you have to let the movie have its own life."

In February 2012, Cage gave a live webchat with fans to promote Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. When asked what roles from his career he would most like to revisit, Cage responded, "I would like to hook up with one of the great Japanese filmmakers, like the master that made Ringu, and I would like to take The Wicker Man to Japan, except this time he's a ghost."

Home media version

A DVD was released on December 19, 2006, with an unrated alternate ending included. In the alternate ending, Malus is held down and his legs are broken at the knee. A wire mesh helmet is placed over his head and live bees are poured in. Malus shouts "Oh, no, not the bees! Not the bees!" After he passes out, the helmet is removed and he is revived with a shot of epinephrine. Throughout all this, he keeps asking how can he be a good sacrifice if he does not believe in their religion. The movie continues in the same way as the theatrical version except the credits begin after the wicker man's burning head falls off. The "6 months later" scene is missing.

The "Not the bees!" scene became famous on the Internet after a compilation video of scenes from the DVD was posted on YouTube.

External links

• The Wicker Man at the Internet Movie Database
• The Wicker Man at AllRovi
• The Wicker Man at Box Office Mojo
• The Wicker Man at Rotten Tomatoes