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I can't believe this scene wasn't in the version I watched! Other than that, I didn't hate the remake. I guess they took out the Christianity aspect of the plot and replaced it with a self-help tape?

THUNDERBALL is definitely my least favorite Connery Bond. Even as someone who loves the excess fat that is inherent to Bond films, that thing is at least 20 minutes too long, and most of that is underwater sequences. Ugh. Anyhoo, being the weirdo metalhead that I am, I love the pagan folk tradition that is celebrated in THE WICKER MAN, as a lot of metal bands incorporate that sound into their music. I know aurally there might not be that much correlation between what most people think of metal and this kind of folk music, but the connection to a pagan tradition is something very metal, so bands really champion this movie and the sound. I mentioned the Neurosis cover in the pick thread, but I thought I would share some of the musical analogs here. Well I'm not in love with this band, I think this is a perfect example of the kind of sound I'm talking about. Hexvessel is composed of purely the folk aspect that metal bands incorporate into their sound, and here are a couple songs of there's that I love from the most recent album.

I also think Wicker Man is a horror film. Granted there’s no blood/gore or supernatural forces, some of the scenes were genuinely unsettling and creepy af. Since we’re on this topic, Thunderball is my least favorite Bond movie. I’ve watched it the least because it’s so boring. Even thinking about it now is boring the shit out of me.

Oh, don't get me started on THE WITCH. I love, love, love that movie. And Folk Horror is a genre I really enjoy, one often unexplored. For more Folk Horror Goodness (though certainly not as good as THE WICKER MAN) featuring Christopher Lee, check out.... And as much as I adore Christopher Lee, Britt Eckland, Roger Moore, and Hervé Villechaize, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN is my least favorite Bond film. It could have been so much better. Anyway, I definitely consider THE WICKER MAN a horror film, especially because I have a rather inclusive definition of the genre.

The weird thing is that I recognize Britt Ecklund but didn't appreciate Christopher Lee with Golden Gun at all. You might want to check out The Witch. It doesn't quite fit the definition of folk horror you have here but it's pretty close. I was just okay on it but everyone horror fanatic I know can't praise it enough.

Yea the worst Bond movie! (I know a few of you disagree.) I finally watched this last night/this morning, and I don't even know. It's just SO weird and unique, I can't even get my head around it. I enjoyed it though, probably because of that. If it was this story but trying to shock or be more frightening instead of just slightly askew, I wouldn't have enjoyed it half as much. I definitely do not consider it a horror film, but in looking up some things I see that "folk horror" is a thing and I am curious to see more of this. I'm not a horror fan but these definitely would be more my bag. Here's the definition: Folk horror films are typically Horror movies that focus on the fear of pagan folklore by a mostly orthodox Christian society. The heathen traditions are presented as enticing and liberating, in contrast to the puritanism of mainstream religion, but at the same time they degenerate into increasingly darker rituals, involving sacrifices to unspeakable entities, black magic and sexual obscenities. This brand of movies takes cues from other horror genres but is fundamentally different. Unlike Supernatural Horror films, folk horror movies very rarely feature actual paranormal events, in order to focus more on the actions of the people rather than on uncanny apparitions. The evil is usually entirely human and the horror is carried out by ordinary members of the society. The so-called "unholy trinity" of folk horror films are Witchfinder General (1968), The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971), and The Wicker Man (1973), the latter often cited as the most popular one.

I need to watch the Nic Cage version. It's a comedy, right?

Glad I finally watched this and I can check it off my pop culture to-do list. At first, I wished they had played up the mystery/detective angle a bit better, but I guess it's befitting his his "fool" image? Also, I was hoping the special fruit trees that were developed for the island was something cooler than apples And...I just have to say I kept being distracted by Howie's ear hair.

So the dad talks about how he took Vickie's mom to prom right before the incest make out sesh. Does that mean they went to the same school as Mary Lou and Hairline Bill? If so you would think seeing a girl go up in flames would have a lasting impression on you . Maybe that's why her mom is so insanely religious because she witnessed Mary Lou become a flambe.

His eyebrows alone are a gift to all of humanity.

Charlize just became one of my most favorite guests of all time!!! I think "I might have to give her my Academy Award!" might also be one of my favorite lines ever lol!

I have to say that my favorite part of this batshit bananas film has to be be the scene where Principle Nordham (Michael Ironside) furiously drives up the town's church to see Father Cooper just standing outside. The scene is set up for the two to discuss Nordham possibly coming clean over his guilt in his roll in Mary Lou's violent-yet-accidental murder. But taken out of the context of this movie, this scene plays like a forbidden, unrequited love affair: Principle Nordham looks out the windshield of his car and sees Father Cooper. Father Cooper stares back with puppy dog-eyed yearning. Principle Nordham then gets this "I can't do this anymore" look on his face and peels off, to wit Father Cooper calls out in a desperate plea, "Bill...!" What the fuck do Vicki's parents still see in each other? Her mom is this ultra religious zealot and her dad is this put-upon sad sack. Did they drift apart as Mrs. Carpenter started channeling Piper Laurie from Carrie, or was Mr. Carpenter becoming increasing lax in his Bible thumping ways? I do not get this pairing, like, at all. Also, the roll between Vicki and her mom would have played so much better if Vicki started out as an obedient, straight A student who becomes increasing out-of-control and essentially her mom's worst nightmare once Mary Lou takes over Vicki's body. Charlize Theron was absolute right about how disgusting the boys room in this movie was. This scene takes place in the 1950's, but that restroom looks like it's in a Greyhound bus terminal. Also, did anyone else notice the old time-y, high-up toilet tanks near the top the ceiling in the stalls? How old is this school? Is this a Canadian thing? I don't recall any of the toilets in the restrooms of schools I went to (grade school through college) having tanks; just pipes that went from the back of the toilet directly into the wall(s). Is the room Josh (Brock Simpson) hangs out in his own private space at the high school? It's not big enough to be a classroom and it's decked-out with all of his creature comforts (a mini fridge full of beer that looks like a TV, all of his computer equipment, a dartboard, an Albert Einstein poster, etc.) The dude seems to feel pretty secure in that room, as if no one (students or the school's insanely minuscule faculty) would just barge on in while he's receiving a coerced blowjob. Why are only Mary Lou and Vicki receiving prom royalty coronations? Traditionally, don't most (if not all) high schools crown a prom queen and king? Or is this a more progressive Canadian high school ritual where boys say, are allowed to get away with murdering students and then become the principle of the same schools their crimes occurred in while girls get tiaras and flame-resistant sashes? (Also, semi-but-not-really-related: remember the time Buffy Summers won the Class Protector award at the '99 Sunnydale High prom? Now that was a great prom!) Finally, a direct question for Paul: as a fellow Star Trek fan, do you watch The Orville? If so, what do you think of it?

Can I just say a gold lame blouse with that amount of chest hair showing is a BOLD choice. Granted a gold lame blouse is a bold choice on its own...

The gang agreed that the soundtrack for this movie is full of legit music but so far all I've heard is Soul City by the Partland Brothers #cancon ETA: about 3/4 into the movie I realized that most of you probably wouldn't know the name Paul Zaza. Apart from just being a funny name, he is the John Williams of shitty Canadian film scoring. His credits include all the Prom Nights, My Bloody Valentine, Turk 182, Meatballs III, and several of Bob Clark's most memorable films including Porky's, Baby Geniuses, and A Christmas Story. So that, at least, is sort of legit. Additional trivia: my college roommate and I used to stay up late on weeknights and watch syndicated reruns of Magnum PI, which were often preceded by a syndicated series called Just Jazz created and hosted by the very same Paul Zaza. It was truly an epitome of 80s Canadian TV. Edited again because I misspelled the name "bob" ffs

So while yes Mary Lou is a simple bitch who is all about that crown and title of prom queen I think that her obsessive need to win and be crowned is a symbol for the life she lost. She says while making out with Principal Bill post power stance on his desk (honestly what a power move! ) something like she could have been anything. Being crowned prom queen is a stand in for that. She has her whole life ahead of her and she was on top of the world. All of that possibility was taken from her. She's never going to graduate, go to college, get a job... any of it. Everything she worked for is ash and it's all this fuckers fault.

I just need to say this episode is officially one of my favorites of all time! So I don't know if it's because I saw the Moviebitches Retro Review of the movie before I saw the movie but I don't think the movie ( shout out to Avaryl for all her hard work! ) was pro religion. In fact I think that (and the Moviebitches mentioned this so I'm sort of stealing from them) that it's sort of a sly commentary on how in the end religion won't save you from your bad deeds. You can't use religion to excuse what you have done. I don't think that the priest was a fully changed person. Instead of feeling sympathy for Mary Lou and thinking about ways to put her spirit to rest , which to me seems more like something someone truly devoted to God would do he's going straight for the exorcism ( incorrectly it looked like) something that can only be performed wit permission from high up in the Church. I get that Mary Lou is out for blood here and it's a horror movie so in a sense he's not wrong. Also I want to note how great it is that it's the guy who fled to be a priest and not some poor girl traumatized and punished . Well I mean... Outside of Mary Lou.

In the fifties, they hadn't invented "Stop, drop and roll" yet, so if someone was on fire, they were already as good as dead. It was all very sad.

Have to listen to the podcast but when i watched the episode I look at the IMDb as I assume most do. I enjoy seeing what the actors have also been in before and noticed this... Steve Atkinson (Young Bill Nordham) played the younger version of Michael Ironside (Bill Nordham) in this movie. They worked again in the same manner in Mindfield (1989) - Michael (Kellen O'Reilly) Steve (Young Kellen). Submitted to the Trivia section for the movie. Quickly looking at the Mindfield it could be another movie to watch! Mindfield (1989) When a police detective kills a criminal, this traumatic event triggers a locked memory, he didn't know he had, of him being a subject of a CIA experiment.

I can't stay but I wanted to give an update and mention a movie. I still am in the cast and got a gash on my leg from the boot breaking. I get a new boot today as well. The angina has calmed down and the GP prescribed generic Zantac because I guess I've developed acid reflux. That's the main cause of the chest pains. As for movies I saw a promotional screening of The Longshot last night. (The movie itself titled it Long Shot.) It stars Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen but our very own June Diane Raphael gets third billing! She was present throughout the movie and right to the very end. Paul Scheer makes a couple cameos. I didn't see Jason but they might have taken him out like they did in The Dictator. <grin> I really enjoyed the movie. It was funny (raunchy funny) and had a lot of heart. So, once again, thank you all for your concern and well wishes. I appreciate it more than I can say. Take care!

Hello, friends. I have not seen The Wicker Man yet, although I have seen the Nic Cage version and boy howdy what a wild ride. But I came in to share this very Wicker Man-esque movie that is from the director of Hereditary and is set to release this summer!

I already am! https://letterboxd.com/almostaghost/list/bond-james-bond-007/ I have two Bond films left in my ordered rewatch

Are you sure you wanna go down that rabbit (hare?) hole?

Did anyone else recognize the actress Britt Ekland who plays Willow is also Mary Goodnight, a Bond girl from The Man with the Golden Gun? And guess who plays the main villain, Scaramanga?

Like what if it were honey...

I agree with all of this. The original Wicker Man is one of the great English language horror films, full stop, and it is interesting to me as a Canadian who grew up with a lot of UK media on TV to read a bunch of Americans reacting to it for the first time. I think a large part of what makes the original so horrifying is because it could be a true story. There is nothing about it I can recall that is not plausible, even for the time it was made. There is no real supernatural activity or reason to think that the sacrifice and the rituals actually do anything - it's just faith, but in an "old religion" whose pagan imagery are still all over the UK. The songs are probably all actual old pagan songs, or adapted from similar ones. Part of Woodward's horror, the more he learns about the village, is the realization that his faith is not enough in a world where no one cares about it or takes it for granted as the truth. Maybe one day we'll see a remake where a heroic Scientologist (I assume played by Tom Cruise, surviving on the "donated" organs of lesser members) visits a small town where everyone is still Baptist, and they nail him to a cross to try to bring their saviour back. For those who enjoyed it and want more but in different media, I highly recommend the XTC album Apple Venus and its companion piece, Wasp Star, but especially Apple Venus. I also highly recommend a two-issue story from the early days of the DC/Vertigo title Hellblazer, issues 25 and 26, in which John Constantine visits a northern town with much the same issues. Lovely art by V for Vendetta's David Lloyd, and one of the creepiest stories I can remember in comics.