The Wicker Man | British Folk Horror at The Cinematheque

THE WICKER MAN
Great Britain 1973
Robin Hardy

Robin Hardy’s heathen-horror masterpiece remains the bedrock of the folk horror subgenre. Written by Sleuth scribe Anthony Shaffer as an against-type vehicle for Hammer Horror icon Christopher Lee, this inexhaustibly eerie film revolves around a devoutly Christian cop (Edward Woodward) investigating the disappearance of a girl on a remote Scottish isle. The kicker: the locals are a pagan sex cult, who deny any knowledge of the missing child. Lee plays their affable leader, suspected of engineering a macabre cover-up; Bond girl Britt Ekland is a booty-slapping barmaid. The film’s eponymous effigy has roots in the recorded (albeit contested) sacrificial rites of the ancient Druids. Hacked down to a B-movie runtime for its original 1973 release (in a sublime bill with Roeg’s DON’T LOOK NOW), this 40th anniversary “final cut” is the director’s definitive version. “Come. It’s time to keep your appointment!”

October 25 (Friday) 6:30 pm
October 26 (Saturday) 8:00 pm

Adult $12
Student / Senior $10

Rated 14A
$3 annual membership required for those 18+

“It’s in the Trees! It’s Coming! British Folk Horror!”
This Samhain season, till the fields of British folk horror with a program that explores the lineage and enduring legacy of this most unholy horror subgenre.
https://thecinematheque.ca/series/its-in-the-trees-its-coming-british-folk-horror

NIGHT OF THE DEMON (PG)
October 25 (Friday) 8:30 pm
October 26 (Saturday) 6:00 pm
https://thecinematheque.ca/films/2019/night-of-the-demon

KILL LIST (14A)
October 26 (Saturday) 10:00 pm
*October 31 (Thursday) 8:30 pm* – as part of our Folk Horror Freak-Out! Halloween Party
https://thecinematheque.ca/films/2019/kill-list