This week on Oh, the Horror!, Sam and Sarah visit the one Scottish island where the checkout process is absolutely getting a bad review. The folk music slaps though, so maybe enjoy it for a bit... but if the locals start creepily stare-smiling at you, time to catch the ferry back home.
THE WICKER MAN
Theatrical Release: December 6, 1973
Budget: $1.2 million
When a young girl disappears from the remote Scottish island of Summerisle, police sergeant Neil Howie arrives to investigate. Instead of finding clues, he encounters a secretive pagan community determined to convince him the girl never existed. This group is like the Olympic gold medal winners of gaslighting. As his investigation continues, he discovers the island is preparing for a ritual with horrifying consequences.
Directed by Robin Hardy, produced by Peter Snell, and written by Anthony Shaffer, The Wicker Man stars Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Lindsay Kemp. The folk-inspired score by Paul Giovanni is one of the film's most memorable elements.
The film was shot in several locations across southwest Scotland, including Plockton, Creetown, Kirkcudbright, Gatehouse of Fleet, Culzean Castle, and Burrow Head, where the iconic finale was filmed. Because production took place in the fall while the story is set in spring, the crew glued blossoms to trees to fake the season. Christopher Lee famously accepted little or no pay because he believed so strongly in the project, which has since become one of the defining classics of folk horror.
Sources: IMDb, Wikipedia
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Music & editing by Meika Grimm. Follow her on Instagram, or hire her for your audio/video/web needs. 😊
