Sergeant Howie investigates a missing child on the Scottish island of Summerisle. As a conservative Christian, he’s unsettled by the residents’ pagan rituals and sexual behavior, especially Willow, the magistrate’s daughter. His investigation delves into the island’s peculiar customs.

A cult film that helped spawn the folk-horror subgenre, The Wicker Man is powered by a palpable fear of rural paganism and hippyish sexual politics. At his menacing best, an unforgettable Christopher Lee presides over this nightmarish tug-of-war between unearthly superstitions and misguided piety.