The Wicker Tree

2012 "Accept our sacrifice"
3.8| 1h36m| R| en| More Info
Released: 27 January 2012 Released
Producted By: British Lion Films
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.thewickertreemovie.com/
Info

Gospel singer Beth and her cowboy boyfriend Steve leave Texas to preach door-to-door in Scotland. When, after initial abuse, they are welcomed with joy and elation to Tressock, the border fiefdom of Sir Lachlan Morrison, they're about to learn the real meaning of sacrifice.

Watch Online

The Wicker Tree (2012) is now streaming with subscription on Starz

Director

Robin Hardy

Production Companies

British Lion Films

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.
Watch Now
The Wicker Tree Videos and Images

The Wicker Tree Audience Reviews

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Portia Hilton Blistering performances.
Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
beorhouse The original Wicker Man is well-loved by many Christians because there is a beautiful martyrdom of one of our own--and that's the whole point of our walk with Jesus, to take up our own crosses and follow him. Fast forward a few decades and we see the stupidity of the same director as he attempts to present Christianity as some dumbfuck American product in opposition to the religion of a superior Celtic people as represented by the snobbish and petty lords and ladies of Lothain Park, Scotland. First, the Christianity represented by the "Cowboys For Christ" may be typical of much of the Protestant world in the Deep South, but has nothing to do with actual Christianity. And, whoever wrote the cowboy's script for the bar scene didn't know the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism. No Baptist or other Protestant in his right mind would ever refer to Mary as "the Queen of Heaven." That statement would be considered idolatrous. So, that's as far as I got. Apparently the director is trying to make Christians at large look like buffoons. Instead, he's made himself out to be an ignoramus. If I could have given this film a Zero rating, I would have. Schlock at its finest.
Maz Murdoch (asda-man) You might've heard of a film called The Wicker Man? I've not seen the Nicolas Cage version, but I know it's legendary for being bloody awful. No, I'm talking about the original film from Robin Hardy which featured Edward Woodward becoming embroiled in an increasingly disturbing mystery accumulating to one of the greatest endings in movie history. After a thirty year absence from the big screen, Robin Hardy himself decided to film a sequel called The Wicker Tree. We're allowed to get excited because it's the original director coming back to do it all with a cameo from Lord Summerisle himself! I remember watching the trailer when it came out and thinking that it looked really promising with its surreal, unsettling imagery. The trailer didn't reveal anything about the plot, and after seeing the film I can see why.The Wicker Tree is complete shitake mushrooms. I'm not quite sure what Robin Hardy has been doing for three decades, but he must have been going through some sort of hideous artistic crisis. Maybe he's become a drug addict because he must've been smoking something unsavoury when he was behind the camera for this. The film follows a couple of young, Bible bashing Americans going on a pilgrimage to Scotland to spread the word of God. Just in case you're not sure whether they're American or not from their strong Texan accents, they're complete with cowboy hats and have to sing a country song every five minutes. Our virginal hero, Beth Booby, is even a famous country singer despite having a fairly crap voice.Beth Booby is like the anti-Miley Cyrus which is revealed in a hilarious sequence where Beth and her bo watch themselves on Scottish news performing like Katherine Jenkins in a Church. The news reporter then shows us what Beth Booby used to be like by popping on the world's worst music video featuring Beth line dancing in tiny shorts singing about how much of a harlet she is. All that's missing is her straddling a wrecking ball and licking a sledge hammer. It's an absolutely hilarious moment, just because it's so badly done. It sets the tone for the rest of the film. Her bo is a born again virgin just like his fiancé, although he still finds time skinny dipping and having sex with strangers in lakes.The original Wicker Man became a cult classic after being re-discovered by some small cinemas in 1977. The same is likely to happen to The Wicker Tree, although this will of course reach cult status for all the wrong reasons. The film itself looks like some sort of shoddy Drama for ITV and the acting from the entire cast is even worse. I read somewhere that Joan Collins was going to star in it at one point and that really would've just been the cherry on top of the cake! Some of the cast actually look like they've just been dragged off their local Scottish street and forced to star in the film. My heart broke a little when the great Christopher Lee appeared for a pointless cameo, acting opposite a hopelessly wooden lad painting a bridge.The attempts at intentional comedy are cringe-inducing and completely out of place. The film works much better when it's not trying to be funny. It definitely falls under the 'so bad it's good' category and is brilliantly entertaining all the way through. I must say that the attempts of Wicker Man-esque horror in the last 15 minutes got a bit tedious, because it felt like they were trying to actually generate scares. The rest of the film is a hoot though, for all the wrong reasons. It's as if some kids saw The Wicker Man, got hammered and decided to do a remake. It's extraordinary that it's the total opposite and Robin Hardy himself created this masterpiece of disaster. If I were to rate this film on quality, it would struggle to receive a 2/10, however as it's such a blast to laugh at I have to go higher.
twokeets My husband and I stumbled upon this movie on TV late last night, and were really enjoying it at the beginning. We enjoyed the Pagan elements of the story, and the friskiness of the storyline. Knowing nothing about this film, we assumed, in fact, that this movie was a lighthearted tale, showing the folly of the young Christians trying to convert the determined Pagan folk. The tone of the film up until about the last half hour is light and sexy and humorous, which made us really like it. Then it suddenly veers into a much darker place, and the tone becomes like that of a good old vintage '70's horror movie. So basically my complaint is the sudden change in tone. It is true that the film seemed a bit superficial, but it was also pretty funny. It could have been improved by deepening the story somehow. And I guess I felt a little unsatisfied at the end, because of the shift in tone. But I still say it is worth viewing, especially if you like Wicker Man-type stories. This is definitely not the Wicker Man, as it is pretty humorous for most of the movie. Maybe that is why Wicker Man (the original) is so effective--it maintained the same ominous tone from the beginning of the movie. But, in conclusion, I have to say I enjoyed watching this movie for what it as. And if you enjoy watching a beautiful naked woman pray to the goddess from the middle of a lovely Scottish stream, you will enjoy it too.
m2mallory "The Wicker Tree" is the long awaited follow-up to the brilliant 1973 film "The Wicker Man," one of the best and most unusual thrillers ever made. Truth be told, we could have waited a little longer for this to appear...like forever. Writer/Director Robin Hardy has basically remade his original story with different characters, updating his Macguffin--crop failure in a remote Scottish village--in an interesting way. But that's largely where the similarity, and the interest, ends. Two young born-again Christians from Texas (Henry Garrett and Brittania Nicol) come to the Scottish village to perform--she's a pop singer--and try and save the souls of the poor Celts, but the inhabitants of the village have an ulterior motive. Garrett is bland as a goofy/slick, horny, cowboy yahoo, but Nicol is downright painful to watch and listen to. This could be the worst presentation of a supposedly talented singer on-screen since Patty Duke in "Valley of the Dolls." And while "The Wicker Man" (at least the uncut version) slowly and carefully builds its suspense and teases the audience just enough to keep them riveted, "The Wicker Tree" is so disjointed and confusing that one wonders if the scenes were edited together in the wrong order. What's more, some sequences are played for broad, almost "Carry On" style comedy, while others are apparently supposed to be sincere. Graham McTavish is good as the head of the community, the role Christopher Lee played in the original, and Lee himself shows up for about one minute in the most pointless cameo imaginable, there for no reason but to include him in the proceedings. Honeysuckle Weeks is also good in the "Willow" part as the town nympho, and knows how to not wear a costume. But undercutting everything, even the occasional well-staged and well-directed sequence, is the music. "The Wicker Man" was a semi-musical, using old and new folk song in an unusual, but enchanting way, utilizing clever musical scoring. John Scott's bombastic orchestral score for this one, however, is egregiously and annoyingly inappropriate at all times. Sometimes it sounds like an old 1970s Amicus movie score, and other times it sounds like bad imitation Bernard Herrmann. Never does it sound right. The ending of "The Wicker Tree," which echoes the ending of the original, has some rough power to it, but it's just not enough. While the basic idea behind this film is sound, the execution is sorely lacking.