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:

Brittania Nicol, Henry Garrett, Graham McTavish

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brittania Nicol	...	Beth Boothby
Henry Garrett	...	Steve Thomson
James Mapes	...	Reverend Moriarty
Lesley Mackie	...	Daisy
Clive Russell	...	Beame
Graham McTavish	...	Sir Lachlan Morrison
Jacqueline Leonard	...	Lady Delia Morrison
Bill Murdoch	...	Rev. McLeod
Kirstin Murray	...	Celebrity Interviewer
Christopher Fosh	...	Trailer Trash Video Dancer
Graham Wadsworth	...	Trailer Trash Video Dancer
Honeysuckle Weeks	...	Lolly
David Plimmer	...	Jack
Iain Stuart Robertson	...	Peter McNeil
Ailidh Mackay	...	Anthea

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:

sex scene | female nudity | folk horror | supernatural horror | bare breasts | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robin Hardy had originally written the part of Sir Lachlan Morrison for Sir Christopher Lee. However, while filming The Resident (2011), 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 appeared as Sir Lachlan's mentor in a flashback.

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Goofs

When Steve is laying in bed his shorts are white with red and blue plaid pattern. When we see him through the eyes of the raven, they are dark blue overall, and after the raven leaves they are back to the red, blue and white plaid shorts.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Old Gentleman: But can fate be altered? This is a question that every religion has tried to answer, and the answer is almost certainly no. But we keep trying...
Old Gentleman: Poor wee laddie... catching him is a game of chance!

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Connections

Follows The Wicker Man (1973)

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Soundtracks

The Anthem at the Tree
Music by Keith Easdale
Lyrics from the poems of Osin
Performed by John Paul McGilvary & Members of the Beltane Fire Society
Produced by John Scott

User Reviews

A failure on all grounds

A Christian country singer and her cowboy boyfriend go on an evangelizing mission to Scotland. They abstain from sex until they are married. They end up in some country small town run by a rich couple who own the local nuclear plant. The town's inhabitants are pagans who worship a variety of gods and the sun. But the rich couple sponsor concerts which gives our country couple the chance to sell their religion. And the town goes along with it.

Strangely, there are almost no kids in the town. One friendly local lady is desperately trying to get pregnant by the local cop. She also ends up seducing the cowboy.

May Day is also approaching and our singer is elected May Queen and the cowboy her Laddie. But we get hints that something isn't right in this town. For some reason that isn't clear, the singer is almost poisoned by the butler. Since that doesn't work, he ends up drugging her and preparing her body in oils for some purpose which we discover later but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense either. At least the surprising fate of the cowboy is explained a bit better.

The Wicker Tree oddly doesn't manage to capture the strangeness of the pagan towns people at all. And there is no sense of the dread in the least. The movie doesn't know how to generate any excitement or build- up toward the resolution. Our country couple is too goofy to be taken serious. He's the kind of cowboy who sleeps with his cowboy hat on. She doesn't contribute much to the story except for songs and innocence. And there are a lot of songs in this movie. Most are actually pleasant even though I despise anything that resembles a musical. In one of the few smart lines in the movie she asks the pagans if they don't have a song for what just happened. If you want to make a movie like this you can't just settle for lameness and mediocrity. The themes are interesting and suited for something edgier, darker. If anything it's an opportunity to make a unique stronger movie.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wicker Tree

Filming Locations:

Arniston House, Gorebridge, 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