I always thought the point was that we've got this nice little island, where everybody are living happily kinda like hippies, and along comes a big bad police officer that don't tollerate any kind of devious behavior. The 'horror' (so to speak) for me was this guys attitude towards everyone and his failiure of acceptance of anything that doesn't go with his predjudice lifestyle. I really fealt he had it coming towards the end...

Lately I read a review however that talked aboot the "scary island" witch you'll never would want to visit? I hadn't even thought aboot it that way before I read that....

I guess to know the real answer you'd have to consider the time it was made and by whom?

the police brutality is awsome in this one, the bashing never stops.... i guess the islanders had it coming becouse of the rude attitude. the police officer try even to be nice and build a straw doll for the islenders but nooooo... they get even more rude after that. so the police officer get fed up and trick the islenders into the straw doll, and fire it up to get rid of them..... of course this is not the whola story but i cant spoil the movie for you... so if you havent seen it go get it!! its a damn good movie

Those damn local folk, real weirduns they are. If I was a gavver I would bust em all up too.

..ZZZzzzzz........

it's both that's the whole point, its close minded pagans vs close minded christians, both of them are so intolerant they won't even listen to the other point of view.

hmm.. I guess. But still I found the islanders much more humble than the outright asshole officer. They are always telling him 'This is how we live, and we're happy' but he wont hear it. 'No,no,no... you're all so wrong. Being happy is baaaaad. It's sin, ya hear. Now come be misserable with me, OR ELSE!!!'

You have to remember why he's there in the first place and what seems to be happening. The audience/police man think there's:
a) a cover up [which there is]
b) someone has kidnapped a girl, or even worse murdered her
c) no one seems to give a shit and they all clearly know what's going on ie. they think its fine
d) he discovers murder/death/coverups/etc.

Okay there's the plot twist, but he is a police officier sent to figure out what's happened to a seemingly innocent girl. No one is willing to tell him anything and instead of acknowleging anything he has to say or any questions they ask, they mess around, dance naked, etc.

If you think of it from that point of view, they are just as bad, ot even worse depending on where your sympathy lies.

However, the film is about religious intolerance in its basic form, on both sides. The simple fact of the matter is both sides are 'wrong'. The pagans are primitive ignorant murderers, and the christians are primitive ignorant oppressors.



Indeed, and if they weren't all possible murder and abuse suspects they may have a point, but their way of living appears to involve abusing others, and the refusal to accept this is wrong.

I agree though, the police officier is wrong to oppress, but thats why the movie works, it turns out that he's just as wrong as the pagans. However I would say, he doesn't want to hurt anyone. He simply wants to solve a crime, whereas there's an agenda behind the pagan's actions, which ultimately means, in my opinion, they are the more sinister... luring an innocent to his death because he doesn't beleive in their system... 'the fool'

btw I've not voted because neither option seems correct to my view of the Wickerman

The scare factor of the wikerman, for me, lies in the fact that a whole society can be so sinister as to lure in an outside, tease, humiliate and abuse him before finally murdering him just because of his, and their religions. I find the ending very powerful because he attacks their religious beliefs with his religious beliefs. However on a very basic level, murder is murder, and excessively planning and executing a plan of the magnitude in the Wickerman is like leading a lamb to the slaughter.

However, the intolerance of both sides does nothing more than infuriate the audience to the point of screaming at them all, pleading for them to sit back and just analyse what they're doing. The madness lies here, and its the madness that is most terrifying.

great writing there spud. much apreciated!

(I just put the poll in there for fun... =)

its actually quite a deep film, reminds me of Witchfinder General and all the other classics, where the 'horror' is about people rather than the boogeyman

any links to that Witchfinder General?

eh, i just wonder if sacrificing people actually gave them a better harvest. if it did actual work, then were would the fault lay? it would probably be a bad thing to find out there is a god, and gods ideals and practices, wants and goals for humanity are contradictory to what we would expect. i know its spinning abit from the movie/topic, but say it turns out the big G., aka God, aka Flower Pimp, big daddy pearl, wanted a sacrifice for a good harvest. that truly would be odd. that would be fuxked up.