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The Wicker Man

The Wicker Man is a 1973 film from the UK, directed by Robin Hardy, running 88 minutes. reelscum files it under folk horror.

Poster for The Wicker Man
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Year
1973 · 1970s films
Country
UK
Runtime
88 min
Director
Robin Hardy
Updated
29 Oct 2026
Obscurity
canon (9/100)
Also known as
Anthony Shaffer's The Wicker Man · The Wickerman · Le Dieu d'osier

Defined in the glossary: Folk horror

Not exploitation, filed here by shelf-adjacency. One of Britain's best films.

A devout Scottish policeman flies to a remote island to investigate a missing girl and finds a community that has cheerfully returned to paganism. He is appalled. They are hospitable. The film sides with neither until the last five minutes, when it commits completely.

It is a horror film with almost no horror in it until the end, built instead on folk songs, sunlight and mounting unease. Christopher Lee called it his best film and worked for nothing to get it made.

Avoid everything you may have heard about the ending. Go in cold.

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