One thing I forgot to mention in my last post about The Wicker Man is its central plot device of gender role reversal. Just another way that movie walks the line between weirdness and absurdity...
Sgt. Neil Howie, the main character, comes to Summer Isle to investigate the disappearance of a local girl. The islanders act in a very peculiar and mysterious way while indulging in various pagan rites. Including orgies. Oddly, gosh, the strange island is blessed with unusual fertility. Except that something is very very wrong...oh my...
To fix the problem, Lord Summerisle (the antagonist...anti-hero...secret hero) and the islanders have decided that they need to sacrifice a virgin. That hoary jab at paganism. But...
Surprise. Surprise. Instead of the standard nubile young female virgin. The sacrifice is Sgt. Howie!
It's a good little twist on a tawdry old tale. The horror version of the 40 Year-Old Virgin. Finally, a man is killed to placate the deities. And finally the sacrifice is middle-aged and average. Unexceptional, except for his virgin status and his prudish Puritanism.
And the burning of the pagan's arch-enemy inside the Wicker Man marks the end of this weird and wacky film. Ah! Delicious contrast...
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