The thoughtful folks at Rotten Tomatoes have worked tirelessly to compile an exhaustive list of the top 200 horror films of all time. The ranking is based on critical reception, audience score, total number of reviews, and the film’s year of release. The list represents some truly influential efforts across a variety of sub-genres. As it turns out, a standout effort from the folk horror subgenre featured on the list recently became available to stream for free!
The title of which I speak is none other than Robin Hardy’s cinematic masterpiece The Wicker Man. The film is a slow-burn folk horror chiller with a gut punch of an ending. It serves as the benchmark by which all subsequent folk horror films will be judged. Truly the gold standard. No wonder the flick claims a spot on Rotten Tomatoes’ top 200 horror films list. Although, I would likely rank the picture a bit higher than 81/200. But there’s a subjectivity to these matters and it’s impossible to please everyone. I get it.
The setup goes like this:
Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) arrives on the small Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the report of a missing child. A conservative Christian, the policeman observes the residents’ frivolous sexual displays and strange pagan rituals, particularly the temptations of Willow (Britt Ekland), daughter of the island magistrate, Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee). The more Sergeant Howie learns about the islanders’ strange practices, the closer he gets to tracking down the missing child.
The Wicker Man is well-regarded as a timeless classic, not just as a pie now. So, it might be surprising to learn that it only pulled in $528,514 at the global box office upon release. Oh well, sometimes it takes time for a feature to find its audience.
Fun fact: The film is loosely inspired by David Pinner’s novel Ritual. However, the author is not officially credited. The film also received the novelization treatment in 1978.
If you’re game to check out The Wicker Man while it’s available to stream for free, head over to Tubi where you can do exactly that. Or don’t. I’m not the boss of you.
Well, that’s all we have for you at present, dear reader. Stay tuned to the site for more clever updates on which critically acclaimed genre films are available to stream and where to find them. If you’d like to chat more about cult horror from the ‘70s, come find me on Threads @FunWithHorror.
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