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The Wicker Man (2006)

Director: Neil LaBute

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3 reviews

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

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User reviews of this film

Septic Tank Frank said...

Posted on Jan 14 2009 16:10 Absolute utter crap. Another case of the Yanks ruining a British masterpiece. They made it a good vs. evil thing, something that the original never was. They confused the horrifying simplicity of the islander's religion with horror baddies and they made the missing girl the policeman's daughter! WTF!!!! Please for the sake of everything decent go watch the original (directors cut if you can)

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Thomas said...

Posted on Apr 22 2008 19:03 Quite possibly the worst film I have ever seen. Nevermind the fact it was poorly written, acted and directed, did it ever occur to anyone that attempting to draw ONE police officer to a strange commune by sending a note about a missing/possibly abducted child would have much more likely attracted 50 police officers and the FBI? This film was so ridiculous it made it impossible to even suspend belief.

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Leona Luk said...

Posted on Jul 17 2007 00:01 A complete and utter disappointment, this never even comes close to the original. Nic Cage provides a frantic performance (best bit is towards the end with the CG bees) and others seem to be sleep-acting towards the end. There is a lot of footage of Nic running this way and that, sometimes on a bike, calling out, getting lost, looking confused, making poor decisions.
Please - save yourself, don't bother. Re-rent the original and have a good time.

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