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Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Beahan, Frances Conroy, Molly Parker ... see more see more... , Leelee Sobieski , Diane Delano , Michael Wiseman , Erika-Shaye Gair , Christa Campbell , Emily Holmes , Zemphira Gosling , Matthew Walker , Mark Black , Christine Willes , Sophie Hough , David Purvis , Xantha Radley , Tania Saulnier , Anna Van Hooft , Moraea Bieber , Jayda Bieber , Talia Ranger , Kendall Cross , Simon Longmore , Andre Danyliu , Jacqueline Robbins , Joyce Robbins , Aaron Eckhart , James Franco , Jason Ritter , George Murphy , Megan McKinnon , Neil LaBute

A young child has gone missing and it's up to a haunted but determined policeman to travel to the remote island community where she was last seen and solve the lingering mystery of her disappearance i... read more read more...n director Neil LaBute's updated reworking of Anthony Shaffer's 1973 cult horror classic. Upon receiving a letter from his one-time fiancée, Willow (Kate Beahan), imploring him to search for her missing daughter on the secluded island of Summersisle, Policeman Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) quickly makes his way to the island to locate the girl and seek an answer as to why Willow suddenly and inexplicably disappeared shortly before their wedding date. Once there, Malus is troubled to discover that although there are traces of the child to be found in such locations as the local schoolhouse, the residents of Summersisle seem reluctant to offer any specific details as to the girl's apparent death. His investigation effectively stalled by the highly secretive Wiccan community, Sheriff Malus soon discovers that there are still some cultures that have their own unique beliefs about humankind's relationship with Mother Earth, and refuse to adapt to the rules of modern society. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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27% liked it

85,692 ratings

Critics

15% liked it

105 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Neil LaBute

Release Date: September 1, 2006

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DVD Release Date: December 19, 2006

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Stats: 8,381 reviews

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The Wicker Man (2006) Nicholas Cage
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Flixster Reviews (8,381)

  • jmanard52
    May 19, 2007
    jmanard52
    This was decent till the end and I was just disapointed in the entire ending.
  • cancercapricorn2002
    June 30, 2011
    cancercapricorn2002
    Avoided this film for a long time but finally sat down to watch it so here we go. A detective (Nicolas Cage) goes to Summer's Isle to look for a girl named Rowan at the request of a former girlfriend named Willow. But he is instead met by an island of women who dominate the men a... read morend sacrifice girls at an altar of fire to help their crops grow.

    I enjoyed the acting of Ellen Burstyn (who plays Christopher Lee's role as Summerisle), though I was disappointed in the casting choice. I would have preferred an older horror actress, or even better someone from the original film. Burstyn makes a great matriarchal figure, but doesn't really have the credentials for the role she was cast in. (I should also briefly note Nicholas Cage is not a horror actor... and his acting here is splotchy and uneven, to say the least.) Neil LaBute directs, after being best known for "Nurse Betty". I've read the novella "The Shape of Things" by LaBute, as well, and don't see how LaBute got this project. What about these past projects says "you're the guy to remake an English horror classic"? Here's where the spoilers come in: As a film by itself, the movie was weak, but as a remake it was completely worthless. It was as if you took a great novel written on the college level and gutted it for 10-year olds. But did it in such a way that even the kids' intelligence is insulted. I have four primary concerns.

    First, the replacement of the pagan religion with the women-dominated society. This sanitized the brilliant dichotomy of Christianity and paganism from the original, getting rid of the most thought provoking aspects. The all female society thing has been overdone (how many times has "Star Trek" done this?).

    Along with this, the original made Christianity get called into doubt and made the islanders seem innocent. Here, we are confronted by people who outright murder and burn people... so even though Cage comes across as a jerk, the islanders are clear villains. This completely reverses the greatest dimension of the first film.

    Third, the Willow character is completely stupid and extraneous. In the original, we were given a little piece at a time of the Rowan mystery. This made the film very enjoyable for the viewer. But in the remake, this Willow character shows up at random times to explain the plot to Cage (and us), making most of the mystery shallow or completely removed.

    And finally, the death of Cage is utterly stupid nonsense. In the original, the detective is a Christian and his faith is tested for a couple days to make sure he is pure for sacrifice. In the new one, there is no purity or any hint of religiousness. All they require is a link to the island. So, my question is this: why did they give him the run-around instead of just knocking him unconscious in the first place? He was not tested, and the lies were pointless... making the entire film utter bull.

    Can you tell I didn't care for this film? As a piece of entertainment, it serves a purpose. But it's poorly written, not expertly acted... and a great insult to the viewer and the original film. I wouldn't let anyone watch this, not even to compare to the original... it's just not worth the time. Watch the original instead
  • MovieGeek13
    May 17, 2011
    MovieGeek13
    Top Five Reasons to watch The Wicker Man:
    1. Nicholas Cage slowly walks up to a woman, never breaking eye contact. He reminded me of Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. He then knocks her completely unconscious.
    2. Nicholas Cage, in a bear costume, clotheslines an ... read moreold lady.
    3. Nicholas Cage karate kicks Leelee Sobieski square in the face.
    4. Nicholas Cage screaming, ``Killing me won`t bring back your damn honey!``
    5. Nicholas Cage screaming, ``No! Not the bees!``
    Actually, just Youtube The Wicker Man Best Scenes. Someone was kind enough to edit these scenes together.
    Painfully slow, lifeless acting, and too many unintentionally funny moments to count, this is filmmaking at its most incompetent.
    I truly mean it when I put this movie right up there with Tommy Wiseau`s The Room as one of the most unintentionally funny movies ever made. And just like The Room, maybe one day The Wicker Man remake will obtain a cult following where people attend, laugh, and just make fun of this horrible piece of celluloid.
  • fb732260458
    May 12, 2011
    fb732260458
    Although Nicolas Cage tries his hardest to make it work, this movie is ridiculously frustrating to watch and just falls apart mid-way.
  • 76Majikat
    March 12, 2011
    76Majikat
    An updated Hollywood remake of the British Classic film. Whilst it follows in line with the original storyline, some amendments have been made to keep it up to date. The ending was possibly more of an impact in this version, again changing with the times and it had been made ju... read morest a tad more violent.

    I probably enjoyed this version slightly more, but it's still only a watchable, take or leave it type of film.
  • SirPant
    September 2, 2010
    SirPant
    Don't remake great films is the lesson learnt here because you will never better them. Neil LaBute obviously enjoys British films but doesn't seem to pay them much respect. His rewriting of this film is awful, the script is puzzling and the acting is shockingly bad. His infantile... read more 'It was all just a bad dream' sequences were nauseating and the script is so bad I've mentioned it twice. The iconic scenes where Edward Woodward shouts Heathens at the folk of Sumerisle and prays for his life are classic pieces of cinema that send an ever lasting chill through the soul, hearing Nicolas Cage shouting 'Bitches' at a bunch of old women doesn't really have the same impact! As far as bad remakes goes, this has to be up there as one of the worst! Avoid!!
  • Deano78
    February 16, 2010
    Deano78
    A very average film, a remake of a classic that I have yet to see. Not an awful lot happens and you can guess what will happen about halfway through any way. Could have been a lot better, apparently the original is much better!
  • harrycaul
    June 13, 2009
    harrycaul
    "This is a story whose chapters were carefully written," says Ellen Burstyn's Sister Summersisle, toward the end of the film. I beg to differ; the plot is a bloody mess! The fact that this remake of the 1973 cult classic is horrendously awful is somehow easier to take than if it ... read morehad been just plain mediocre. I'm not going to waste too much breath on it. LaBute's script loses much of the cleverness and subtlety of Anthony Shaffer's brilliant original, while adapting the few elements it preserves without, it seems, comprehending their significance to the ingenious web Shaffer was spinning. I'm dancing around the subject a little here because I don't want to spoil the plot for anybody who hasn't seen the original, but there were basically three crucial aspects to Edward Woodward's character, Sergeant Howie, that made him just the man the community of Summerisle were looking for: his devout Christianity, his chastity and, as a policeman investigating the disappearance of a little girl, the power he wielded. LaBute fudges all three of these. For example, Nicholas Cage's character is a still a police officer, a Californian highway patrolman, but the script relocates him to Washington state, outside his jurisdiction, rendering him effectively powerless. Anyway, I won't go on. Just avoid it; it's really bad! Cage is dreadful. Molly Parker's is the one effective performance.
  • flixsterman
    January 6, 2009
    flixsterman
    No more remakes!!
  • Redlats
    July 1, 2008
    Redlats
    I found the story interesting. I didn't like Nicolas Cage's character. As I watched more of it, it felt vaguely familiar and got more so as the movie progressed. After I finished the movie I checked up, and sure enough, I would have seen the original Wicker Man in the 1970's. ... read more If you decide to watch this, watch the 1973 version, and skip this one. PS, on TV I saw the DVD ending. Think I would have preferred the theatre ending.

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Critic Reviews

Jack Mathews
September 23, 2006
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News

The '73 film is brilliantly constructed and ends with a punctuation mark that was shocking in its day. LaBute's movie attempts to shock, as well, and does: Given the names involved and the casting of ... Full Review

James Berardinelli
September 7, 2006
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Despite retaining significant chunks of Shaffer's dialogue to go along with the basic story structure, LaBute has transformed the eerie, disturbing psychological thriller into an unintentional comedy. Full Review

A.O. Scott
September 5, 2006
A.O. Scott, New York Times

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.

Owen Gleiberman
September 2, 2006
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

The whole thing is transparently a concoction, and so even though the movie holds you, its climax lacks that tingle of madness. All that's burning is some sticks. Full Review

Mark Olsen
September 1, 2006
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times

LaBute's remake is an interesting idea that never transforms into a particularly satisfying movie. Full Review

Michael Atkinson
September 1, 2006
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

This wasn't a horror film the first time around, and LaBute makes sorry feints at effective creepiness. Full Review

Bill Muller
September 1, 2006
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

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

Terry Lawson
September 1, 2006
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Cage over the years has more than earned a reputation as an actor who is not afraid to embarrass himself, but in the cause of The Wicker Man, that seems less a commendation than a horrible misjudgment. Full Review

Ruthe Stein
September 1, 2006
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle

Nicolas Cage's finest hours are not spent frantically running through a forest in The Wicker Man, especially when he must do so dressed in a bear suit. Full Review

Christy Lemire
September 1, 2006
Christy Lemire, Associated Press

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

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    • Edward Malus: Oh of corse, another plant!
    • Edward Malus: What's in the bag? A shark or something?
    • Edward Malus: Killing me won't bring back your goddamn honey!
    • Edward Malus: How'd it get burned?
    • Edward Malus: Not the bees! Not the bees!
    • Edward Malus: Who's desk is this?
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The Wicker Man Trivia

  • Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle, Edward Woodward as the police sergeant & Britt Ekland as a pagan?  Answer »
  • What Movie was filmed partially on Bowen Island B.C. Canada? *HINT* The star "Found treasure in 2004" and will do it again in 2007.  Answer »
  • nicolas cage stared in the national treasure and wot is his new film called?  Answer »
  • What movie stars Edward Woodward as a detective sent to a strange island to investigate the disapearance of a young girl?  Answer »
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