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The Wicker Man

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The Wicker Man (2006)

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Reviews Counted:100

Fresh:15

Rotten:85

Average Rating:3.5/10

Consensus: Puzzlingly misguided, Neil LaBute's update The Wicker Man struggles against unintentional comedy and fails.

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $23,607,080

Synopsis: Neil LaBute's THE WICKER MAN stars Nicholas Cage as Edward Malus, a policeman thrust into some dangerous detective work by a series of strange events that begin with a horrific car crash. This... Neil LaBute's THE WICKER MAN stars Nicholas Cage as Edward Malus, a policeman thrust into some dangerous detective work by a series of strange events that begin with a horrific car crash. This incident leaves the cop haunted, with images of the accident replaying in his heavily medicated mind. Edward's hiatus from work is interrupted when he receives a mysterious letter from his ex-fiancé, pleading with him to help find her missing daughter, Rowan. Against his better judgment, Edward travels to the remote, privately owned island of Summerisle, home to a close-knit, secretive community with a clear dislike for outsiders. Considering Edward an intruder, the Sisters of Summerisle offer little information regarding the missing girl. Edward is at a loss, finding even his ex-love Willow to be little help. With vacant eyes and a strange, listless way about her, Willow should be the first of many red flags to send Edward running. But in firm horror-movie tradition, the seasoned cop throws caution to the winds, staying in the place longer than seems smart. This 2006 remake veers away from the 1973 film in several key ways. For one, it replaces the original's eerily upbeat folk soundtrack with a tasteful Angelo Badalamenti score. With a mild PG-13 rating, the 2006 version is relatively tame compared to the original. While the 1973 film freely mixed pornographic elements with horror themes and musical numbers, the new film confines itself to horror, abandoning that strange mixture of genres that made Anthony Shaffer's film a cult classic. While LaBute's film adds a back-story and romantic interest, it requires equal suspension of disbelief. Despite their differences, both films end in the same disturbing way, leaving an indelible image that may haunt viewers long after the credits roll. [More]

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker, Leelee Sobieski

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker, Leelee Sobieski, Frances Conroy, Kate Beahan, Diane Delano, Michael Wiseman, Erika-Shaye Gair

Director: Neil LaBute

Director: Neil LaBute
Screenwriter: Neil LaBute
Producer: Nicolas Cage, Randall Emmett, Avi Lerner
Composer: Angelo Badalamenti
Producer: Nicolas Cage
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for The Wicker Man

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
01/15/08
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
09/23/06
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
08/25/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Wicker Man is comically inept as a horror movie, unable to even manage an effective false scare, or sustain suspense for more than a beat or two.

comment 1 Comment
09/05/06
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The sense of dread that should pervade every frame of film is nowhere to be found. It plays like an expensively produced commercial for some organic product grown with loving care by devotees of all-natural farming and/or animal husbandry

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/01/06
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

The blatancy of the outcome siphons any intended suspense, already padded by an overbearingly atmospheric score.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
09/16/06
Annlee Ellingson
Annlee Ellingson
Boxoffice Magazine

Instead of maintaining a mysterious tone to follow its suspenseful opening scenes, 'The Wicker Man' soon turns into something almost laughable.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/02/06
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

The first Wicker Man was about a cult. The remake is more about a dolt.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
09/01/06
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/20/08
Brian Marder
Brian Marder
Hollywood.com

In the remake, LaBute has Cage beating up women with karate kicks, and has placed an insulting coda on the film that screams of studio intervention of the worst kind. This is not progress.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
09/01/06
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com

In the final act of The Wicker Man, when Nicolas Cage has donned a bear suit, you have to wonder just what it is you're watching.

Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
03/24/07
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
UGO

Rotten, risible, rubbish. One of the year's worst films.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
09/08/06
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

It's never as scary or suspenseful as it aspires to be, but it might just be the greatest bad movie of the year, with its clunky writing resulting in some surprisingly entertaining kooky moments.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
09/01/06
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

Nicolas Cage gives the worst performance of his career opposite Kate Beahen in this useless update of Robin Hardy's far creepier 1973 original suspense movie based on Anthony Shaffer's novel.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/20/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

The Wicker Man is misconceived, miscast and, where suspense is concerned, thinner than a Katie Couric publicity photo.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
09/01/06
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Every time I turn my head," he sputters, "there's something that doesn't make any sense." Exactly.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
09/07/06
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Writer-director Neil LaBute's remake of the 1973 British movie The Wicker Man should have had 'Don't make me!' stamped on the first page of the script.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
09/01/06
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

This is the kind of film for which Golden Raspberries were invented.

Full Review Source: Beaumont Journal | comment Comment
08/31/06
Danny Minton
Danny Minton
Beaumont Journal

Neil LaBute's remake of the British horror classic is as wooden as its titular effigy... and wholly unnecessary.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
09/23/06
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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