The Wicker Tree

The Wicker Tree is a 2011 British horror film written and directed by Robin Hardy. It contains many direct parallels and allusions to the 1973 film The Wicker Man, which was also directed by Hardy,[1] and is intended as a companion piece which explores the same themes. The film premiered at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal, Canada, July 2011 and was released on Blu-ray in the UK on 30 April 2012.[2]

The Wicker Tree
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobin Hardy
Screenplay byRobin Hardy
Based onCowboys for Christ
by Robin Hardy
Produced byPeter Snell
Peter Watson Wood
StarringChristopher Lee
Graham McTavish
Jacqueline Leonard
Henry Garrett
Honeysuckle Weeks
Clive Russell
Brittania Nicol
CinematographyJan Pester
Edited bySean Barton
Ray Lau
Music byJohn Scott
Production
companies
British Lion
Tressock Films
Distributed byAnchor Bay Films
Release dates
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7.75 million

Plot

Beth Boothby (Nicol) is a successful born-again evangelical pop singer from Texas. She and her fiancé Steve Thompson (Garrett) both wear purity rings and belong to a group known as the "Cowboys for Christ", who travel to "heathen areas" of the world to preach Christianity. The Reverend Moriarty sends them off to Glasgow, hoping to save some souls there. However, they're shocked at their very negative reception, and nobody accepts their pamphlets. They are approached by Sir Lachlan Morrison (McTavish), the laird of the small village of Tressock in the Scottish Lowlands, and his wife Delia (Leonard), who invite them back with them to preach. They actually intend them for a more central part in Tressock's May Day celebration.

The villagers of Tressock have become infertile after the construction of Sir Lachlan's nuclear power plant. While out riding a horse, Steve has sex with female villager Lolly (Weeks), whom he finds bathing nude in a spring. Steve regrets his actions and wants to return home. During a flashback Sir Lachlan remembers a mentor from his youth (Christopher Lee, in his role as Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man). Meanwhile, a detective named Orlando is sent to Tressock, posing as the local police officer to secretly investigate reports of a pagan cult. After having sex with Lolly on multiple occasions, Orlando discovers that the people of the village worship the ancient Celtic goddess Sulis.

Beth and Steve decide to begin their preaching at Tressock's May Day celebrations. To impress the locals, they agree to become the local Queen of the May and the Laddie for the festival, not realising the consequences of this decision. Steve is chased by villagers on horseback as part of a ritual and is torn apart by them at its completion. Back in Sir Lachlan's house, the Morrisons' butler Beame (Russell) attempts to sedate Beth to prepare her for her role as the May Queen. He had tried this the night before, but the spiked milk killed the Morrisons' cat. Beth attacks Beame and flees, but is captured in town. After discovering Steve's death, Beth confronts Sir Lachlan at the wicker tree. She pushes Lachlan into the structure and sets it on fire, killing him.

Beth tries to escape from Tressock with the help of one of the few children left in the village. She is captured and later killed. Her body is preserved and put on display in a room with the previous May Queens. Lolly gives birth to Steve's child and brings a new generation to Tressock for the first time in years. Delia prays to the setting sun for the gods to find more men to bring to Tressock to sire more children.

Cast

Production

Writing

In 2002, it was reported that Hardy was working on a film entitled The Riding of the Laddie, said to be in the same genre as The Wicker Man. Sean Astin had signed on as the male lead, with Christopher Lee, LeAnn Rimes and Vanessa Redgrave set to play major roles. Lee had passed the screenplay on to Astin while the two were working on the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Ewan McGregor also read the script, and requested a cameo appearance. Of the story, Hardy stated, "It's about a certain kind of American innocence abroad featuring two young born-again Christians. They've made a pact not to have sex before marriage, and they come over here like the Mormons and preach door-to-door. It's a thriller; they get sucked into a dark world. We hope to start in September for a 2003 release." The film was to be shot on location near Glasgow and in Oklahoma.[3]

Hardy was ultimately unable to secure funding, and the film was cancelled. He then adapted his screenplay into a novel, which was published as Cowboys for Christ. Hardy felt that writing the novel gave him a much clearer idea of what he wanted to do, and he eventually adapted the novel into the screenplay which was used for The Wicker Tree.[4]

Casting

Originally Hardy wrote the part of Sir Lachlan Morrison for Christopher Lee, who played Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man. While filming the newest Hammer production The Resident in New Mexico, Lee injured his back when he tripped over power cables on set. Although very disappointed, Hardy gave the role intended for Lee to Graham McTavish, the actor who had originally been cast as Beame, the Morrisons' butler. Clive Russell plays Beame instead. Lee is still in the film, making a brief cameo appearance as the unnamed "Old Gentleman" who acts as Lachlan's mentor in a flashback. Robin Hardy has stated that fans of The Wicker Man will recognise this character as Lord Summerisle,[5] but Lee himself has contradicted this, stating that they are two unrelated characters.[6]

Joan Collins was originally set to play Lady Delia Morrison when Lee was to play Sir Lachlan Morrison. However, when Lee injured himself and was replaced by the much younger McTavish, Collins was similarly replaced with a younger actress, Jacqueline Leonard.

Filming

Filming was due to start in September 2007, but the film was delayed for financial reasons. It was later announced the film would shoot from April 2008 in Dumfries and Galloway. A week before the shoot, Dumfries and Galloway Council announced the filming had been stopped due to financial reasons.[7] Filming eventually started in July 2009 in Edinburgh,[8] Haddington; Gorebridge; Midlothian; and Dallas.[9]

The Wicker Tree went through several title changes before its release, including The Riding of the Laddie, May Day, and Cowboys for Christ. The film had its premiere[10] at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal in July 2011. Anchor Bay handled U.S. distribution, and the film received a limited release on 27 January 2012. No wide theatrical release date has yet been announced, although it was released on Blu-ray in the UK in April 2012.[10][11][12][13]

Reception

Initial reviews from the premiere at Fantasia festival were polarised. The Fangoria review was mildly positive with misgivings: "even as a black comedy, Wicker Tree can’t match the impact of its predecessor. Still, for those fans of Wicker Man who can open their minds to viewing, as Monty Python used to put it, something completely different, the new movie can be appreciated as an entertaining variation on its themes."[12] The Starburst magazine review was negative, remarking that "Sometimes cult films really should be left alone", and, "Prepare to have your hopes dashed however as The Wicker Tree is awful."[14]

The film had a limited U.S. theatrical release in January 2012.[15] In April of that year, Hardy discussed the film's mixed critical reception. "The New York Times’s reviewer said it wasn't as gritty as the original Wicker Man, but it's a thousand times better than the remake. I was quite happy with that." When asked whether he preferred The Wicker Tree to the original version of The Wicker Man, Hardy replied, "No, I really don't."[16]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 21% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.8/10.[17]

Home media

Anchor Bay Entertainment released The Wicker Tree on Region 1 and Region 2 DVD and Blu-ray in April 2012.[18][19]

Proposed third film

Hardy had proposed a third film in the Wicker Man film series, The Wrath of the Gods, but he died on 1 July 2016.[20]

References
  1. "'Wicker Man' Companion Piece, 'The Wicker Tree', Gets an Official Website". bloody-disgusting.com.
  2. Sarah Dobbs, Robin Hardy interview, SciFiNow (UK), 20 April 2012. Accessed 4 December 2012
  3. Witzig, Jack (14 March 2002). "The Riding of the Laddie". The Cold Spot. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  4. Applebaum, Stephen (12 April 2012). "The Director of Cult Classic The Wicker Man Returns with the Wicker Tree – Interview With Robin Hardy". Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  5. Hardy, Robin. "RM-051.mp3 (audio/mpeg Object)". Rue Morgue Radio. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2012. Well, it is very ambiguous. We don't really know who he is. He's an antecedent, of some kind, of Lachlan's. Lachlan remembers him, when he was a boy. There's a boy painting a bridge, and it may have been Lachlan as a young person. He's remembering this grandfather figure, or this great-grandfather figure – whatever – who the people who are fans of The Wicker Man and the wicker [inaudible], if you like, will of course immediately recognise as Summerisle. But we don't give him a name or anthing. I think in the credits he's just called the old man.
  6. Lee, Christopher (27 December 2011). Christopher Lee 2011 Christmas Message Part 1. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2012. The first one that I can think of is The Wicker Tree, in which I make a very brief appearance. I must emphasise this is not a sequel to The Wicker Man. In no way. And I do not play an older Summerisle, or his son, or whatever.
  7. "UK | Scotland | South of Scotland | Cult film sequel shoot called off". news.bbc.co.uk; BBC News. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
  8. (2015) Filmed here - 2009 The Wicker Tree, Robin Hardy Archived 17 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine Film Edinburgh, Retrieved 17 February 2015
  9. "Lothian sets the scene for Wicker sequel". Edinburghnews.scotsman.com; Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
  10. "New Photos and Traier for Wicker Tree". WeGotThisCovered.com
  11. "Preview 2011". FantasiaFestival.com
  12. Gingold, Michael (21 July 2011). "Wicker Tree: Fantasia film review". Fangoria.com
  13. "The Wicker Tree Poster is Burning, is Burning, is Burning for You". Shocktillyoudrop.com. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
  14. Holt, Chris (28 August 2011). "The Wicker Tree review" Starburst Magazine
  15. The New York Times, 27 January 2012
  16. Needham, Alex (1 April 2012). "Wicker Man sequel revisits original's murky territory". The Guardian.
  17. "The Wicker Tree". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  18. "The Wicker Tree". Amazon. 24 April 2012.
  19. "The Wicker Tree". Amazon UK. 30 April 2012.
  20. "Robin Hardy dies." BBC. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016
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