joshua_skye
Joined Mar 2005
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joshua_skye's rating
Just watched "The Wicker Tree." Wow. What a monumental disappointment. As a HUGE fan of the original (not the absurd Nick Cage remake) I have to say that this failed in every way the original was a success. I haven't been this disappointed in a movie since "Congo." Yeah, its that bad!
Though they were somewhat misrepresented, the original focused on the beliefs of the Pagan community depicted. I was particularly impressed by the fact the film didn't confuse Paganism and Satanism as SO many of its peers did at the time. And let's face it, most movies still do. I also loved the reverence with which Paganism was presented by the filmmakers. As the bigoted Christian makes his way through the labyrinth constructed for him we see a beautiful, intelligent, spiritual, fully realized culture a culture often scorned, mocked, and openly denounced by sanctimonious Christians. Is there a history of human sacrifice in Paganism? Yes. Is there a history of human sacrifice in Christianity? Absolutely...and of genocide, infanticide, and countless acts of self-righteous slaughter!
But I digress.
The original "Wicker Man" gave the world a respectful portrait wrapped up in what is often considered a horror film, though I would argue that it isn't. "The Wicker Tree," however, is everything the original wasn't. It's mainstreamed, dumbed-down, pandering, and a steaming pile of clichés amidst all-too-fleeting moments of affability. It spits in the face of the original film's uniqueness and reverence, and there are even times where it has the audacity to actually mock the classic film. I frankly could not believe the same man created both movies.
"The Wicker Tree" is transiently interesting, often just silly and entirely dreadful. It is a failure of colossal proportions that makes the classic a fluke success. By comparison the chauvinistic, vomit-inducing Nick Cage remake of "The Wicker Man" was good. Robin Hardy stated during a screening that "It's okay to laugh." Well, I guarantee you it wasn't because he initially intended the humor as so many fanboys would like to believe. The themes of the film are as outdated as the original's were innovative. Particularly eye-rolling was its non-too-subtle cautionary nuclear-age message, a chestnut straight out of 1950's schlock. Uggg. Just uggg.
Though they were somewhat misrepresented, the original focused on the beliefs of the Pagan community depicted. I was particularly impressed by the fact the film didn't confuse Paganism and Satanism as SO many of its peers did at the time. And let's face it, most movies still do. I also loved the reverence with which Paganism was presented by the filmmakers. As the bigoted Christian makes his way through the labyrinth constructed for him we see a beautiful, intelligent, spiritual, fully realized culture a culture often scorned, mocked, and openly denounced by sanctimonious Christians. Is there a history of human sacrifice in Paganism? Yes. Is there a history of human sacrifice in Christianity? Absolutely...and of genocide, infanticide, and countless acts of self-righteous slaughter!
But I digress.
The original "Wicker Man" gave the world a respectful portrait wrapped up in what is often considered a horror film, though I would argue that it isn't. "The Wicker Tree," however, is everything the original wasn't. It's mainstreamed, dumbed-down, pandering, and a steaming pile of clichés amidst all-too-fleeting moments of affability. It spits in the face of the original film's uniqueness and reverence, and there are even times where it has the audacity to actually mock the classic film. I frankly could not believe the same man created both movies.
"The Wicker Tree" is transiently interesting, often just silly and entirely dreadful. It is a failure of colossal proportions that makes the classic a fluke success. By comparison the chauvinistic, vomit-inducing Nick Cage remake of "The Wicker Man" was good. Robin Hardy stated during a screening that "It's okay to laugh." Well, I guarantee you it wasn't because he initially intended the humor as so many fanboys would like to believe. The themes of the film are as outdated as the original's were innovative. Particularly eye-rolling was its non-too-subtle cautionary nuclear-age message, a chestnut straight out of 1950's schlock. Uggg. Just uggg.
This is one of my very favorite short films ever! I first saw it on Logo a while back and finally just happened across it on a DVD I just rented. I love everything about it. Lex and Jonathan are good looking, which is always nice. The acting is beyond the scope of most short films. I mean, you can really tell what's going on with Lex. The guy's eyes emote more emotion than most Hollywood big wigs could even dream of. The performance is amazing. The writing is top notch and the direction is fantastic. This is a high quality production and a lot of love went into it. I wish that this would be turned into a full length feature film but only with the same cast. How about a sequel!!! That would be great too.