The Wicker Tree (2011)

Charmed by the residents of Tressock, Scotland, two young missionaries accept the invitation to participate in a local festival, fully unaware of the consequences of their decision.

Director:

Robin Hardy

Writers:

Robin Hardy, Robin Hardy (novel)

Stars:

Graham McTavish, Jacqueline Leonard, Henry Garrett

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Graham McTavish	...	Sir Lachlan Morrison
Jacqueline Leonard	...	Lady Delia Morrison
Henry Garrett	...	Steve Thomson
Honeysuckle Weeks	...	Lolly
Clive Russell	...	Beame
Prue Clarke	...	Mary Hellier
Lesley Mackie	...	Daisy
David Plimmer	...	Jack
Christopher Lee	...	Old Gentleman
Brittania Nicol	...	Beth Boothby
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Astrid Azurdia	...	Patricia Gow
Alessandro Conetta	...	Orlando
Keith Easdale	...	Town Band
Christopher Fosh	...	Trailer Trash Video Dancer
Stuart Glasgow	...	Town Band

Storyline

Young Christians Beth and Steve, a gospel singer and her cowboy boyfriend, leave Texas to preach door-to-door in Scotland . When, after initial abuse, they are welcomed with joy and elation to Tressock, the border fiefdom of Sir Lachlan Morrison, they assume their hosts simply want to hear more about Jesus. How innocent and wrong they are.

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Plot Keywords:

black comedy | sequel | three word title | satire | plant in title | 

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Taglines:

Accept our sacrifice

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, nudity and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cowboys for Christ

Filming Locations:

Crichton Castle, Crichton, Midlothian, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$7,750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Lion Film Corporation, Euro Center Productions, Tressock Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robin Hardy had originally written the part of Sir Lachlan Morrison for Christopher Lee. However, while filming The Resident, Lee injured his back after tripping over power cables on set. Although extremely disappointed, Hardy cast the actor who was originally playing Beame, Graham McTavish in Lee's role, with actor Clive Russell taking over the part of Beame. Still wanting to include Lee, Hardy quickly wrote a cameo role for him. He appears Sir Lachlan's mentor in a flashback.

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Connections

References The Simpsons (1989)

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Soundtracks

"The Laddie Song"

• Lachlan

Traditional Arrangement Keith Easdale
Performed by Keith Easdale, Graham McTavish and Stuart Glasgow
Produced by John Scott

User Reviews

Sometimes, dead is better.

Admittedly, you could have taken a 6 inch brush and coloured me sceptical for this one. I am a huge fan of the original Wicker Man (less so of the Nicolas Cage version) and so it was with apprehension and doubt that I ventured into this sequel of sorts. The one saving grace may have been the close involvement of Robin Hardy, the original author and director of the Christopher Lee classic.

Lee was pencilled in to star in this movie but unfortunately health problems excluded him from doing so, his appearance is stripped down to a very incidental flashback scene, yet his name still rides high in the opening credits. This is only the first disappointment that you will experience when it comes to The Wicker Tree.

It is essential to be fair and state that it is far from the worst horror movie you will see this year, as it has a certain amount of redeeming features. The problem is the unfortunate fact that it will always have to stand comparison to the original, a movie which has cemented itself as an indisputable classic.

One of the primary difficulties which The Wicker Tree stumbles to overcome is the overall tone of the movie. It can't seem to decide whether it's a knowing and acerbic in-joke, a serious thriller or a humorous homage to its predecessor. This is one of the main reasons that it fails to have any definite resonance with the viewer, although it doesn't make it difficult to watch. There are some beautifully composed shots of the unforgiving Scottish countryside and a particularly handsome raven, but there's so little going on under the surface that it quickly becomes the equivalent of a rushed meal at a fast food restaurant, complete with the subsequent guilt, nausea and comedown.

The American leads are satisfactory in that all they have to do is play vacuous Evangelist Christians, sent over on a mission to the remote Scottish village. The villagers are played for comic relief rather than any form or actual menace and so the inevitable 'scene' that we're all waiting for the entire movie is played out like a community centre theatrical production of The Wicker Man, only with a slightly bigger budget and more actors.

If you're a Hardy obsessive, by all means give it a shot. If you're unfamiliar with the movie's origins, you'll probably get a few laughs out of it, but that's hardly what one would expect when a story comes from such good original stock. A missed opportunity.

More reviews available at zombiehamster.com