No other movie has given us an ending in which the inquisitor is burned by the witches

The best thing about this film is that the villagers don't think they are doing anything wrong. They aren't punishing Woodward, it's just that they feel obliged to kill him. It's what they have to do, and they do it gladly.

Christopher Lee. Those two simple words say everything I need to know that this film is brilliant. He was a force of nature❤️ Great video, I enjoyed all of this, thank you!

My first viewing too and I love it.Christopher Lee at his best! I didn't consider it horror. Excellent deep dive and well presented podcast too! Thank you!

Willows Song Is An Absolutely Splendid/Vintage Classic Indeed...

Excellent exposition.

Brilliant analysis of a classic film. Great cast also.

I know its a bit late me saying this as I only just found your channel. You picked the right year to watch this movie again. This years marks the 50th anniversary of *The Wicker Man* , there have been celebrations throughout this year to commemorate this movie.

Actually picked this up the other day randomly looked cool. Really enjoyed it for an older film !!

I love this movie! I watched it before I watched the remake (thankfully, lol) and its always been a favorite. But I still always think NOOO NOT THE BEES!!!! every time The Wicker Man is mentioned, lol. Lovely video, as usual!

This was an amazing review. Perfectly dissected.

Great movie and great review! When I saw this movie I was struck by how strange the inhabitants of the island were... Because here in Argentina there are many small towns, very far away, with very strange people!

The videogame 'Kynseed' was influenced by The Wicker Man. A land of joyous pagans, wooden effigies of sacrifice called Woodfellows, and multiple quotes and references to the movie :-)

It’s nice to listen to another horror fan, and the accent helps.

The thing that most people miss about this movie is that the paganism of the islanders were not their traditional beliefs. Rather, they were institutionalized by Lord Summerisle’s grandfather, who was a rationalist and industrialist who took advantage of the island’s unique micro-climate to raise his strains of plants. He brought old beliefs in a new form to fool the local populace that his scientific discoveries were “magic”. Despite the fact that the current Lord Summerisle knew this religion was entirely a sham, he was sure of his own supremacy in the society and was happen to commit murder in order to maintain his place atop the island’s social order. Yes, Howie is an extremely unpleasant and judgmental victim, but he is in fact completely innocent. The islanders, meanwhile, are not “free spirits” minding their own business, but mindless upholders of a status quo that had been arbitrarily thrust upon them by a the elite class.

I love this episode. I especially enjoy the way you break down both sets of beliefs.

I remember seeing the wicker man as a kid and it’s still one of my favourite British horrors. I’m sorry I cannot bring myself to watch the remake with Nicholas Cage (the same goes for the Italian Job). Loving these deep dive videos, looking forward to whatever topic you’re going to cover next.

What The Horror, Spooky Astronauts and Drumdums. Horror content perfection. Thank you so much for all you do! I've still somehow never seen the Wickerman. Loved Midsommar though!

This is definitely better than the remake. I regret that America is responsible for that.

Loving this podcast/video etc subscriber - love the disection of movies and you do this very well

Yep, this explains why Midsommar felt so familiar This was one of those horrors I watched as a bored kid back in 2008 but I did watch it again last week and it still holds

Congratulations on the 17K subscribers sis!👍

Great analysis. I do love the balance of things in this film, for every pro one side has, a con. And they mirror each other. Both Come off as self assured, yet both show absolute faith in the mode of religion. Congratulations on the subs. I’m glad your hard work is paying off. Have a good week, Miss Sarah.

You're completely right about howies superiority complex and the morally grey areas. When i first saw the trailer for midsommar I almost jumped out of my seat in excitement that we would get a return to the world of the wicker man. I think that ending must have burned into ari astas mind as it did so many of us, and it felt like midsommar was his tribute and a new wicker man for a new generation of horror fans. I can thoroughly recommend don't look now from the same time period for the same reasons, the ending still has the power to scare the absolute crap out of me as I can honestly say I did not see it coming

Ohhh now I’ve got to watch this film, thanks for the review/analysis

It's a classic, psychogical thriller. 1 of Lee's best for sure. Also really cool how the American Metal band Agalloch used samples from it on their White EP which a favorite of mine and many others (although there is no Metal music on the album oddly).

I went on the ride then watched the movie presently surprised with the musical aspect

Also- many congrats on the 17k subs, you have a really great unique channel and I can easily see you breaking 20k by the end of the year

What a lovely channel

I watched this film as a kid, at the time, to me it was clear the policeman was the bad guy and he had to be "dealt with" for the safety of the islanders. They were just doing their own thing without disturbing anyone. My Grandfather was the only adult that agreed with me. Fun times.

Excellent summary and review of one of my favourite movies

Congrats on 17 000 subs. A well-deserved milestone !

NO NOT THE BEES AHHHHH

I have to disagree on the point that both Summerisle and Hälsingland feel idyllic and beautiful at first. That's certainly true for Summerisle, right up until the moment of the big reveal. But Hälsingland just screams "cult" as soon as you enter the village. The white uniforms, the placid expressions, the blank stares as everyone moves in perfect sync, the too-cleanness of the whole place. It immediately brings to mind Jonestown or Heaven's Gate. I think that's one area where Midsommar falls short of The Wicker Man, because while the setting is beautiful, it still looks like a place where some dark shit could go down at any minute, so we're all just waiting on the other shoe to drop.

Great deep dive. Love this film. I wonder if it could also be a commentary on the change in society bought about in the 60s, where the old social classes and norms were being challenged by the youthful free thinking, and the message of free love, to eventually consume the old way (Howie)?

Really enjoyed your breakdown of the movie and delving into the themes and even behind the scenes stuff. I didn't realize how big a part Christopher Lee played in the making of the film, but I'm happy to know now! Thank you!

Great video! I finished The Wicker Man yesterday and didn't really like it, but I still appreciate it because it inspired Midsommar which is one of my favorite movies!!! Love your content by the way, I found your channel a few months ago :)!

I love this film! Midsommar is one of my favs of all time so I watched Wicker Man sometime after. It was fantastic. I didnt know they burned animals, that's horrible!

Great video!

No the animals were not in there being burned! That is a lie that Britt spread around years later because she was called out by the cast and people for her absolutely horrible behavior during filming (demanding a heated limo be available for her only during all her scenes for one example). Also, Howie MUST ascent freely to every “scene” he encounters with the people of Summerisle. This is a crucial traditional history of dealing with the fae or the Otherworld - agreeing, making pacts, etc is a must so the idea that he is merely forced is a misreading. He must go willingly. If for example he had lost his virginity with Willow he would not have been sacrificed.

Awesome! Thanks!

This movie was completely fascinating to me, because aside from killing Howie at the end, no one was necessarily depicted as evil. Quirky, yes, people with sticks up their asses, yes. But just people, and that's not something you really get in horror movies too often. And something about that ending scene where he's being burned alive just--there's something about that scene that feels like a biblical apocalypse in some way. It's kind of like the end of Midnight Mass on Netflix, in a way. Great flick and great breakdown!

I'm so happy you talk about the musical aspect of the film. My main thought after seeing it was "Why hasn't anyone mentioned it's a musical?!"

Edgar wrights crime thriller comedy horror film Hot Fuzz is heavily inspired by the wicker man they even used Edward Woodward to play the Doctor.

I went into this one thinking it was going to be some sort of cannibalistic slasher, but was very pleasantly surprised by the dark comedy it really was.

An amazing horror movie and one of my favourite classic movies from the uk

Iv4 Seen The Film Twice...

04:17 "diegetic" Diegetic music or source music is music in a drama that is part of the fictional setting and so is knowingly performed and heard by the characters. I had to look it up! Thank you for NOT talking down to me. 🧐

SPOILERS ahead: The Sub-Genre that the Wicker Man, Midsommar and movies like The VVitch belong to is considered Folk Horror. And I absolutely love both of these movies that you have dived right into. It's creepy because it's all out in the open. They didn't do much to Sgt. Howie. They let him make his own bed. He was given ample chances to stray away and become a not so prime candidate for sacrifice. Willow tried to save him by offering to have sex with him, but he was just too obsessed with staying pure. Which ended up screwing him in the end of things. If he had agreed to join Willow, well there wouldn't have been the mystery and the guessing game and puzzle of it all. If he had gone back early in his plane to get back up. So many 'if onlys' that could have saved him, but he was just too headstrong about it. He just stuck himself on the platter. And if you watch the Wicker Man as many times as I have.... you notice something new all the time. The same thing goes with Midsommar. If Christian wasn't such a douche, he wouldn't have made himself a prime target for sacrifice. If he had refused to mate with Maya, he might still be alive. So it's a lot of choices that in both movies, no one forced them into. They decided to go their own way despite the warning signs. They just kept running on ahead and we get great movies out of it to enjoy! Great job with this video, I definitely enjoyed it! Thank you!

Love the movie.

This was a classic and the remade US version was not even close to being any good.

A great representation of our English natural religion.

One of the best films ever made, horror or otherwise. I hope everyone can forget that travesty of a remake with Nicholas Cage.

Some of the best PHYCOLOGICAL THRILLERS, ever made are NOT horror films, such as - PHYCO, THE OMEN, WHICKER MAN & DON'T LOOK NOW (Which was released as a double bill with Whicker man, at the time in 1973) Good & evil I wouldnt say that was ever the point of the film, what is most eery is that to the Pagan Islanders, they are doing nothing wrong, & celebrating their religious philosophies. I particularly like the ending scene where the police man looks to the people for suport thinking they can't believe in this but they are entranced none of them are doubting it, except ironically Summerisle himself (who fears that if he doesnt continue the tradition they will turn on him & lynch him)

One of the "Big Three" of folk horror, the others being Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan's Claw, I'd argue this is the deepest and most complex of the three movies. I totally agree there is no black and white, no clearly defined "bad guy". I even wonder, what if the islanders are correct? What if their religious beliefs are actually based on something that works? After all, it's the pagans that triumph in the end, Sergeant Howie's Christian God is nowhere to be seen. When Howie dies, his own desperate hymns and prayers are easily drowned out by a triumphant chorus of "Summer is a Coming In", showing who is really in charge of Sommerisle.

OH, NO, NOT THE BEES! NOT THE BEES! AAAAAHHHHH! OH, THEY'RE IN MY EYES! MY EYES! AAAAHHHHH! AAAAAGGHHH!

I liked the scene where Howie eats the disgusting canned meal, which looks probably about average for British food circa 1973.

Midsommar is kind of a pale imitation of Wicker Man (1973). Wicker Man gave its 'pagans' their own historically rooted beliefs and gave them 'equal footing' of having their belief system justified by the mirror image unshakeable faith as the christian character. Meanwhile, the 'pagans' of Midsommar follow the finger-paintings of the mentally handicapped, they practice ritualized 'euthanasia' that is completely concocted, they aren't presented as having any historical or philosophical or theological legitimacy. Midsommar is pretty plainly intended as christian propaganda, the male lead is literally named Christian and the movie is about how he has gone off to college and lost his way in the 'secularism' and 'moral relativism', and therefore falls prey to a cartoonishly evil cult. The movie's crux is when the cultist college guy asks Christian's girlfriend if she feels held by him, and she cannot muster any affirmation, Christian has lost his way, lost her loyalty, and therefore loses his life. Midsommar is a visually gorgeous movie, it is well made and a good enjoyable horror movie, it simply suffers in comparison to one of the best horror films ever made.

The 1970s were far more overtly racist, sexist, homophobic, and cruel toward animals. Millennials lack historical perspective beyond the present. People were smoking inside, women were getting cat-called on the street AND the workplace, and fist fights were a common way to 'settle the score.' I hate animal abuse, but it's absurd to critique it as what you hated about the film without considering the time period. That said, this was also my first time seeing The Wicker Man, and I loved the movie.

Old Is Better...

although the religions are presented as different beliefs, it paints the pagans as villains for sure. they may have been happy to explain and share. but as a ploy to mislead and lie. and even with hubris, howie is honest. he hasn't created a ruse to bring them to his turf only to preach his faith and inevitably condemn them. because they do in fact condemn him spiritually and physically.

I watched this film for the first time on Halloween. I am a Roman Catholic who recently converted from Atheism with a soft belief in Paganism and Christianity, I grew up in a non traditional household and far from Christian moral teachings more most of my life so I until recently was more well versed in Pagan concepts. Maybe it’s the fire of belief, but I could not for a moment see anything wrong with the sergeants actions or attitudes toward the people of Summer Isle. In my experience with non-traditional nature worship and this felt very coded within the film, through my perspective, there’s this great sense of insidiousness in regards to sexuality dressed as “free love”. Lord Summer Isle just happens to have a front row seat to naked children fire walking in the hopes of being impregnated by a God, a fulfillment usually carried out by High Priests (Summer Isle) the old men of the Inn make familiar remarks about young women old enough to be their granddaughters, I don’t trust these people for a second around the kids. “And on that bed there was a GIRL and on the GIRL there was a MAN” why not woman? I denied nature worship because often the practitioners are strong Anti-Christs, more often than not they partake in sexual abuse. ESPECIALLY if they’re strong enough in their convictions to practice ritual animal and human sacrifice. The whole island ought to be nuked from orbit. I’m aware my new faith has problems with sexual abuse scandals, and I will not defend those, among the lay people of the faith, the gross abuse of children is not tolerated or celebrated but mourned. In every pagan circle I’ve encountered there is no concept of accountability or protection of innocents. It’s all about self gratification whereas Christianity I find self sacrifice. Howie have his life for a girl he never knew. The islanders murdered to enrich their harvest. Great film, bone chilling, I used to be a pagan, and now I detest them. This film illustrates why in such a perfect way.

"Influenced" "Midsommar." You mean it's the movie they ripped off wholesale.

Did not remember about the animals in the film. Not OK in my opinion. The 70's were different, gore, sex and nudity as normal in most horror films. And we better don't start with the "mondo" documentaries or films like "Cannibal Holocaust". Sometimes a bit too much but better than actual "censorship".