The Wicker Tree
United Kingdom
2010
Color
2.35:1
English
Synopsis
Christopher Lee reprises his role as the eerie Lord Summerisle from 1973’s Brit-horror hit The Wicker Man in this thriller that follows two American Christians (Henry Garrett and Brittania Nicol) who’ve come to evangelize a Scottish village with a twisted pagan history. Initially thrilled by the town’s warm welcome, the Yanks discover that May Day celebrations promise a sinister fate. Robin Hardy directs this film that co-stars Honeysuckle Weeks.
Director
Robin Hardy
Robin Hardy (born 10 October 1929) is an English author and film director. His most famous directorial work was The Wicker Man, and his latest project is a film adaptation of his book Cowboys for Christ, which has been retitled as, The Wicker Tree. Hardy now lives in London and Somerset. -— Wikipedia
Filmography
The Wicker Man (1973) (director)
The Fantasist (1986) (writer and director)
Forbidden Sun (1989) (writer)
The Wicker Tree (2011) (writer and director)
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Displaying 4 of 12 wall posts.
John
20Nov12
The first movie did a good job at equalizing the old with the older, but the ending led down a questionable slope . . . an unwilling sacrifice? I don't know; let's ask Joseph Campbell about that one. On the other hand, this one follows an expected decline and portrays the old pagan rites of the Celts in a more sensational way than Julius Caesar could have ever dreamed.
Coheed 2.5
22Oct12
It was never going to live up to the original Wicker Man, but I really liked this. After the debacle with the remake, where Cage tried to act in a serious film but was eventually punching women in a bear suit, the almost glib, ridiculous tone of Hardy’s continuation is even more perfect, the ritual paganism of the first film having to contend with the prevailing cultures of this era – Christian Evangelicalism and American influences – and a native country of Britain which has managed to warp its proud folk culture with a preposterous and easy to mock cultural attitude post- Millenium Dome even to now in 2012. The frivolous, sex based humour and silliness, with the beautiful folk songs, fits perfectly with avoiding replicating the original film while allowing its macabre final half to be still as sinister in a more horror comics light. The ending could be seen as weak but it can be also seen as a fitting subversion of the original’s, especially since the cult legacy of the first was used as advertising on the UK DVD without any mention of how spat on the original was before it was rightly treasured.
Matt Burgess
21May12
A cute little throwback to the 70s classic but completely lacking its hypnotic power. There are some beautiful shots of ruins and pastoral locations but on a whole the acting is dismal (especially from the braindead lead) and the script is pretty lazy and oddly chaste, lacking a sense of 'ritual' like the original. Dont expect much. Way better than the Nic Cage mess obvs.
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Articles
Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
Daily Briefing. Rollin, Hardy, Landis, Dante
By David Hudson on January 28, 2012
Hardy’s got a sequel to The Wicker Man, but Nicolas Cage has another idea.
Blu-ray Review: Robin Hardy's THE WICKER TREE
By Twitchfilm.com on May 11, 2012
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthaniMy God, My God, why have you forsaken me?Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Tree, ten years in the making, and even longer in the anticipating, is a strange conundrum of a film. Hardy’s
Wolves in Sheep Clothing (Genre as Sartorial Satire): Robin Hardy talks the Legacy of The Wicker Man the Timing of The Wicker Tree, and 40 years of History
By Twitchfilm.com on January 27, 2012
It has indeed been nearly 40 years since the release of the British cult film, about cults: The Wicker Man. Director Robin Hardy has a fairly sparse resume in the ensuing years, only a single film, and
Review: Robin Hardy's THE WICKER TREE
By Twitchfilm.com on January 27, 2012
The Wicker Man is one of those films that has taken on such a life of its own over the past 38 years. It succeeded against all manner of personality conflict, distribution woes, and production logistics
Watch Twenty Five Minutes Of Robin Hardy In Coversation With Richard Stanley
By Twitchfilm.com on January 26, 2012
In what was a both a remarkable and fortuitous collision of talents the 2011 edition of Montreal’s Fantasia Festival played host to both Robin Hardy and Richard Stanley. Both of them enormous cult figures
Watch An Exclusive Clip From Robin Hardy's THE WICKER TREE
By Twitchfilm.com on January 16, 2012
Director Robin Hardy burst in to the international film world in 1973 with the release of The Wicker Man, the cult title still widely considered to be one of the greatest British genre films ever made
Full Trailer For Robin Hardy's THE WICKER TREE
By Twitchfilm.com on December 17, 2011
I should preface this by saying that – despite the fact that it looks and acts like a trailer – I am not 100% convinced the the 2+ minute video released on the site of Robin Hardy’s The Wicker……
Robin Hardy Returns With THE WICKER TREE
By Twitchfilm.com on December 17, 2011
It has been thirty seven years since Robin Hardy unleashed The Wicker Man upon the world, thirty seven years in which he has directed only one other feature. But now Hardy is back behind the camera to
Fantasia 2011: THE WICKER TREE Review
By Twitchfilm.com on December 16, 2011
The Wicker Man is one of those films that has taken on such a life of its own over the past 38 years. It succeeded against all manner of personality conflict, distribution woes, and production logistics
Impressive New US Trailer For Robin Hardy's THE WICKER TREE
By Twitchfilm.com on December 9, 2011
Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Tree was a pleasant surprise when it premiered at Montreal’s Fantasia Festival. Early trailers cut during production had not impressed and the response from the early market screenings
Grimm Up North 2011: THE WICKER TREE review
By Twitchfilm.com on November 20, 2011
If you’re going to mash up horror and comedy ideally your writer or director needs to have it straight what it is the audience are supposed to be laughing at. The idea of a quiet English village hiding
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