A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Positive Messages
very little
Humans are capable of terrifying things when their livelihood and community are threatened. In the wrong hands, religion can be dangerous and normalize the mistreatment of others. Nature should be both respected and feared. Goodness doesn't always triumph in the world.
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Positive Role Models
very little
Sergeant Howie is a pious Christian man who holds his beliefs firmly in the face of challenge and is quick to judge others. He can be gruff and rude but is determined in his pursuit of justice, even at the cost of his own safety. Lord Summerisle appears carefree and jovial but uses a religion he doesn't subscribe to in order to manipulate the island's inhabitants and maintain his position of power, encouraging people into horrifying acts.
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Diverse Representations
Flagged for concern
Women are sexualized, with one target whistled and leered at as locals sing a song about her promiscuity. A teen boy is sent up to her to presumably lose his virginity. A prolonged scene sees her dancing naked in her room, and other examples of hypersexualization include a woman in the bathtub arranged to reveal as much as possible, and women often seen naked, whereas men are not. All characters are White, and authority figures, such as the police officer and the ruler of the island, are men.
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
A character is trapped inside a building with animals and set alight in a long scene: Human and animal screaming is heard as they burn. Tussling. A character is knocked out with an object, falls unconscious, and is tied up and gagged. A disemboweled rabbit is shown, and a piece of skin referred to as a child's umbilical cord hangs by a grave. Mentions of death, the disappearance of a young girl, and skinning a child. Another child falls out of a wardrobe, pretending to be dead. A severed hand is used as a candle, the fingertips burned. Sword fights and fake decapitation form part of a celebration.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
a lot
Many couples have sex, including outside in a field and with noises heard through a wall. Women dance naked during fertility rites, a woman is seen naked in a bathtub, and another dances naked in her bedroom -- breasts and bare buttocks are seen. Frank talk with children about sexual symbolism, and topiary hedges that look like male genitalia. Bawdy singing with sexual references to erections and gigolos.
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Language
a little
Language includes "hell," "damn," "damned," and "bloody," as well as exclamations of "Jesus Christ" and "oh my God."
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Products & Purchases
very little
Occasional brands seen in the shop and pub, including Heinz and Smirnoff.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a little
Characters smoke pipes and cigarettes and drink alcohol in a pub, getting rowdy (bawdy singing and dancing).
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Wicker Man is a 1970s British horror film starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee in which a pious Christian police officer is sent to a secluded pagan island in search of a missing child. While it may show up in classic horror lists seen by kids, this film is very adult in its themes and pace. Men are portrayed in roles of power and women are hypersexualized. There are several instances of female nudity, sex (or attempted seduction), and a famously disturbing scene of human and animal sacrifice. Language includes "hell," "damn," and "bloody," and characters drink and smoke. The movie's underlying theme is the conflict of Christianity and revived ancient pagan worship. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
What's the Story?
THE WICKER MAN begins with the arrival by seaplane of a Scottish police officer, Sgt. Howie (Edward Woodward), to the coastal settlement of Summerisle. He's following up on a report of a local girl's disappearance, but villagers deny that the child ever existed. Howie observes that the town's church is long abandoned, children learn fertility rites in school, naked couples make love outdoors at night, and men in the local inn sing a lewd ditty about the owner's daughter (Britt Ekland). When Howie visits the local authority, Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), the aristocrat explains that his ancestor, a science-minded agronomist, banished belief in Jesus from the island and reinstated the town's historical pagan beliefs. Howie is now sure that the missing girl is intended to be a human sacrifice to the gods to guarantee a bountiful harvest, but can he save her from her fate?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the religious elements of The Wicker Man. What does the movie say about religion -- Christianity, Paganism, and religion more widely? Are the friendly people of Summerisle truly "evil"? Discuss how religion can shape our values and our understanding of right and wrong.
Discuss the horror of the final scene. How do filmmakers ramp up the sense of dread in the minutes leading up to it? How is it portrayed without showing too much detail?
The film is considered a classic in many horror circles and was remade in 2006. Have you seen the remake? How does it compare? Can you think of other examples of remakes -- what qualities separate the successful from the less successful?
