THE WICKER MAN | 1975 - horror/mystery

wow.

strange film.

hey hey hey, was that mister deltoid as one of the villagers?

here's the synopsis from the back of the tape case:

Police sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward), stern but deeply religious, is mysteriously lured to a remote island to investigate reports of a missing girl. He has received a message from an anonymous source on the island claiming that the girl is missing, yet no one on the island admits anything. Even the girl's mother seems unconcerned. And the more Woodward pokes around, the more he realizes there's more going on than just a conspiracy of silence. As he becomes gradually aware of the "bizarre" ways of the seemingly salt-of-the-earth islanders, he is told by Lord Summerisle (CHRISTOPHER LEE) that the islanders practice a form of pagan worship - to appease the sun and harvest goddesses - that is not beyond human sacrifice. Woodward now realizes that the "missing" girls is about to become the next victim, or is she? One frightening aspect leads to another as time draws near to keep an appointment with THE WICKER MAN.
For sheer imagination and near terror, THE WICKER MAN has seldom been equaled. If you like cliff-hangers, hypnotic spells and edge-of-the-seat stuff, see THE WICKER MAN.

"videohound's complete guide to cult flicks and trash pics" gave it (the complete 103 minute version...) a rating of three and a half (out of five) bones.