So I watched the Neil LaBute/Nicholas Cage remake of The Wicker Man last night. The final reel is indeed as crazy as its reputation suggests, what with the bicycle-stealing, bear suit and what have you. Shame the rest of the film doesn’t quite live up to this camp delirium.
An even greater shame is that it’s the most misogynistic film I’ve ever seen, particularly with its nasty little coda. Seriously, it’s like Dave Sim wrote and directed it. If you ever wanted to see the Cirinists on film, this is the one for you.
What’s missing from the film is what was so effective in the original: that rationalist Anglican fear of paganism. That’s what makes the original so creepy. In its place we get Nicholas Cage punching various women in the face, which is not the same thing at all.
Still, it might be unfair to label LaBute a misogynist as such. In his first film, In the Company of Men, he showed that he hated men too. I guess he’s an equal opportunity hater: he just hates everyone.
