Robin Hardy directed this British folk horror, starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee.
AMOUR (Abandoned, Misunderstood, Overlooked, Underestimated, Revisited Films)
Anthony Shaffer’s script was inspired by David Pinner’s 1967 novel “Ritual.”
The plot centers on the visit of police officer Sergeant Neil Howie to the fictional, isolated Scottish island of Summerisle searching a missing girl.
A devout Christian, Howie is appalled to find out that the inhabitants of the island have abandoned Christianity and now practice Celtic paganism.
The film also introduced the subject of the wicker man, a druid effigy, into modern popular culture.
Released in 1973, The Wicker Man was met with mixed reviews, but the film garnered praise in later years. In 2004, Total Film magazine named it the sixth-greatest British film of all time.
In 1989, Shaffer wrote a script treatment for “The Loathsome Lambton Worm,” a direct sequel with fantasy elements, but Hardy had no interest and the project went unproduced.
In 2006, a poorly received remake starring Nicolas Cage was released, from which Hardy had dissociated himself.
In 2011, a sequel written and directed by Hardy, The Wicker Tree, was released, featuring Lee in a cameo appearance.
In 2013, the original U.S. version of The Wicker Man was digitally restored and released.
Another sequel, Wrath of the Gods, directed by Robin Hardy’s son Justin Hardy, was released in August 2026.
