Cult of Wicker Man sets tourism on fire (original) (raw)

As the sun hovered above the horizon, a giant wicker effigy began to burn. Mask-wearing pagan worshippers chanted and a goat, fearing that it was about to be flame grilled, urinated on petrified policeman Edward Woodward's head.

The terrifying scene, minus Woodward, will be repeated next weekend as fans of the cult film, The Wicker Man, gather in Kirkcudbrightshire in south-west Scotland for a 48-hour homage to sex, druids and rock 'n' roll.

Made in 1972, The Wicker Man starred Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland and Woodward in an eerie account of how a God-fearing bobby goes to the fictional west coast community of Summerisle in search of a missing girl only to be drawn into a world of hedonism and human sacrifice.

Universal and Canal+ are backing a remake starring Nicolas Cage for release next year. Not to be outdone, however, the director of the original film, Robin Hardy, plans a sequel, again featuring horror legend Lee. Ewan McGregor may also appear in a cameo role in The Riding of the Laddie.

Hardy, who has lent his support to The Wickerman Festival, remains disappointed that The Wicker Man was not a commercial success when released, but points to its enduring appeal as vindication of what both he and Lee always regarded as a great work. 'The producers were saying it was complete rubbish and couldn't be sold. But then Christopher Lee took it to Paris and it won the Grand Prix du Film Fantastique, and an American magazine called it the " Citizen Kane of horror films". There are now 75,000 websites dedicated to the film.'

Perhaps unsurprisingly, he has little enthusiasm for the Cage version. 'Remakes can be successful, but The Wicker Man is timeless in the first place, so how do you update it?'

The festival will be staged on 130 acres of farmland near the village of Dundrennan and up to 5,000 Wickerfans, as they have become known, will enjoy live music, screenings of the film and burnings of effigies. The lead act is Irish punk outfit Stiff Little Fingers.

It comes as no surprise to Bill Christie that so many Wickerfans want to make the pilgrimage. Christie owns the Ellangowan Hotel and in the film his bar became the spooky Green Man Inn. Indeed, Christie is in the privileged position of owning a watering hole renowned the world over as the pub where Britt Ekland danced naked.

'There is now a constant stream of Wicker Man enthusiasts,' he said. 'People from around the United Kingdom come here and we also have a great deal of interest from the United States. Some fans of the film come back two or three times a year.'