Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more

The Wicker Man (2006)

Director: Neil LaBute

Average user rating

1 review

Movie review

From Time Out London

Neil LaBute’s utterly misconceived remake of Robin Hardy’s 1973 cult horror film is a boring, fright-free catastrophe, not least because of its half-cocked attempt to replace scriptwriter Anthony Shaffer’s original conflict between po-faced Christianity and free-spirited paganism with his own sardonic take on the battle of the sexes (cf ‘The Shape of Things’). So instead of Christopher Lee’s eccentric aristocrat lording it over his phallus-worshipping Scottish serfs, we have Ellen Burstyn queening it over her commune of feminist worker bees, and Edward Woodward’s strait-laced, God-fearing policeman is replaced by Nicolas Cage’s haunted, belligerent motorcycle cop. Lured to a remote island by an old flame whose daughter has gone missing, Cage tries to shout, bully and punch his way to the truth. But his blinkered violence is no match for the feminists’ fancy footwork, and his bad-tempered bear soon falls into their honey-trap. Substituting irrelevant back-story for insidious intrigue and daft stunts for suspense, LaBute’s film drones on and on. Finally, and most unforgivably, its cursory Wicker Man finale fails to replicate the fiery shock of the original.

Author: Nigel Floyd 2006-09-06 12:30:47

Time Out London Issue 1881: September 6-13 2006

Bookmark

User reviews of this film

David said...

Posted on Nov 08 2007 03:04 It was a disaster. It is one of many remakes that audiences have been forced to suffer through in recent years. It lacks all of the potent imagery of the original with its clash between Sergeant Howie's virgin like ravings and the earthy pleasures of the community that he is investigating. The original had its own flaws, many of which were created when the original cut was trimmed by a studio that was changing hands. Still, it is disconcerting to think of a director of LaButes class thinking he knows better, then proving so painfully that he does not.

Report as inappropriate