Film Flare's Film Diary 2013/36

In the name of the sun goddess, let us dance about the maypole and offer bountiful sacrifice that there is another fire hot edition of Film Flare Film Diary.

 

Oh, I saw The Wicker Man this week. The original 1973 version. At the Arts Picturehouse that they're looking at closing. Sacrilege!

 

Oh and if any of you read The Wicker Man and thought of Nicolas Cage rather than Clive Woodward then please find the nearest beehive and pour the angry swarm over your head, screaming "Not the bees. Blarg blarg rarg-a-blarg!"

Not Pictured: Apples

 

The Wicker Man (1973)

Still one of the creepiest and most unsettling films I have scene, Anthony Shaffer's tight screenplay and Robin Hardy's claustrophobic and visual direction take an already unsettling idea and form a near nightmarish film.

The clash between the strict Catholic values of Sgt. Howie (Clive Woodward) and the much more liberal, extreme Pagan views talked about by Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee at his very best) is what I still find most interesting about the film. But much more than a simple clash of cultures. The strict Catholic code of the policeman end up forming the reasons he's sent to the island to search for Rowan Morrison.

The film's greatest triumph though is making the whole film uniquely unsettling. From the moment he lands on the island, it's not just the misleading and lies that unsettle. It's the framing of people singing or the use of percussion to mimic heartbeat and sex. It's the (almost biblical) temptation of Howie in the now infamous scene with Britt Ekland. Towards the end of the film, the film gets more tense and it ends in a scene which has not lost a single iota of power even after 40 years. When Howie first sees the wicker man itself, it's goosebumps o'clock. Without fail. No matter how many times I've seen the film and knowing how it ends, the film still shocks.

So it's a horror film in the truest sense of it creating a sense of horror. It's not a horror film that scares throughout, it unsettles. It's quieter than the sudden noise jumping shock you expect from horror films these days. It's more measured than that. The pacing the of the film betrays that it's in no hurry to get to scaring you. The film is more than happy to take it's time to get you involved and then to ratchet up the tension, ending with something more terrifying than 99% of horror films could imagine. 

With the great script and the scene stealing performance from Christopher Lee, it's perhaps surprising that the best performance in the film goes to Clive Woodward. His Sgt. Howie is so nuanced and you can see him grating subtly and not-so-subtly with everyone he meets and the attempts to obstruct his investigations give rise to him taking more extreme actions. In addition to this, you have his incredulous reactions to so many of the Pagan teachings, it's outrage. It's a fantastic performance that even though he is the 'hero' of the piece, he has flaws that other characters are more than willing to take advantage of. 

 

So this film is without a doubt a landmark of British cinema. It's a perfect example of using direction, misdirection and a great script to create a palpable sense of tension. By the time the film ends, everyone in the cinema just sits there, utterly drained. It's a triumph.

 

Trailer:

(The trailer for this film contains too many spoilers which will ruin the film if you haven't seen it. If you want to watch the trailer, it's on Youtube.

 

 

See you next time.

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