The Wicker Man Review
By David Kempler
Not exactly quality wood
I burn for you.
Movies are remade all of the time, sometimes with different names, but it is truly unusual to do a new version of a cult film. In 1973, Robin Hardy directed "The Wicker Man", written by Anthony Shaffer. The film has since gone on to the eternal life of the midnight movies a la "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". The original was genuinely eerie, exposing us to a sort of alternative universe where murder may not actually really be murder. Keep in mind that it came out during the tail-end of the hippie, free love era. It also helped spawn Burning Man, the desert ritual that has become a yearly Labor Day weekend ritual.
In 2006, we have the remake, with the same title. That may be where the similarities end. Allegedly, the idea for this second attempt came from Nicholas Cage, who stars this time around. While watching the credits I noticed that the film was dedicated to Johnny Ramone of the Ramones. It turns out that Mr. Ramone originally introduced Nicholas to the cult classic.
In this version, Cage plays Edward Malus, a policeman who witnesses a horrible car accident in California. While recovering from the trauma, he receives a letter from his ex, requesting that he come help her in Washington State where she now resides. Malus goes and finds himself mixed up with a cult that is a little bit "Queen of Outer Space" (the cult classic starring Zsa Zsa Gabor) with Ellen Burstyn as Zsa Zsa and Leelee Sobieski playing another spacey lady. It's always hard to tell if Sobieski is portraying a weird character or weird in real life. "The Wicker Man" is also a little bit "Eyes Wide Shut", Kubrick's well intentioned but flawed final film, mostly I suppose because of the use of masks. Neil Labute draws the directorial assignment and he does a creditable job but he is hampered by a story that just doesn't play as well in 2006 as it did in 1973.
The plot and details of this version are rendered unimportant because the viewers find themselves torn between wondering whether this is a scary entity, a camp version, or simply not very good.
Cage has been quoted as saying, "I want you to, four nights later, wake up in your bed at 3am and go, 'I can't get that image out of my head.' That's how I want to scare you with 'The Wicker Man'." While there are two or three moments of fright here, you need not worry about your normal sleep patterns being altered if you choose to see "The Wicker Man". In fact, the memory of seeing it will quickly fade. I saw it two hours ago and it's already almost forgotten.
