They copulate openly in the fields, include children as part of the May Day celebrations, teach children of the phallic association of the maypole, and place toads in their mouths to cure sore throats. Howie, a devout Christian, is disturbed to find the Islanders paying homage to the pagan Celtic gods of their ancestors. Sergeant Neil Howie journeys by seaplane to the remote Hebridean island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison, about whom he has received an anonymous letter. theatrical version of The Wicker Man was digitally restored and released. In 2011, a spiritual sequel directed by Hardy, The Wicker Tree, was released it featured Lee in a cameo appearance. In 2006, a poorly received American remake was released, from which Hardy and others involved with the original have dissociated themselves. Hardy had no interest in the project, and it was never produced. In 1989, Shaffer wrote a script treatment for The Loathsome Lambton Worm, a direct sequel with fantasy elements. The film brought the wicker man into modern popular culture. The final scene was number 45 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments, and during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, it was included as part of a sequence that celebrated British cinema. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. Film magazine Cinefantastique described it as 'The Citizen Kane of horror movies', and in 2004, Total Film magazine named The Wicker Man the sixth-greatest British film of all time. The Wicker Man is well-regarded by critics.

Howie, a devout Christian, is appalled to find that the inhabitants of the island have abandoned Christianity and now practise a form of Celtic paganism. The plot centres on the visit of a police officer, Sergeant Neil Howie, to the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle in search of a missing girl. The screenplay is by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 novel Ritual, and Paul Giovanni composed the film score. The Wicker Man is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee.

The Wicker Man by Robin Hardy