Day 302: The Wicker Tree

The Wicker Tree

Make like a Wicker Tree and leaf

I've reviewed a lot of movies over the past year. I've watched originals, sequels, prequels, remakes, sequels to remakes, re-imaginings, and all other sorts of movies. I didn't think there was anything else left and then I saw today's movie, The Wicker Tree. Now, you may see the title and think, “Hey, that must be a sequel to The Wicker Man.” Nope. “Oh, OK. It must be a prequel.” Nu-uh. “Hmm. Remake? Re-imagining? Sequel to the prequel to the remake?” No, no, and no. The Wicker Tree is classified as “companion piece” to The Wicker Man. A companion piece, in regards to film, is a movie that is similar in nature and themes to that of a previous movie. Or if you want to put it another way, a movie that is pretty much the same as another one, just not as good.

The Wicker Tree is a 2011 horror film written and directed by Robin Hardy (The Wicker Man, The Wrath Of The Gods). The film is adapted from the Robin Hardy novel, Cowboys For Christ. The movie stars Brittania Nichol as pop country singer Beth Boothby and Henry Garret (Red Tails, Re-Kill) as her cowboy fiance, Steve Thompson. Both are evangelical Christians from Texas, wearing purity rings and belong to a group called “Cowboys For Christ”. They travel to Scotland to do missionary work, bringing Jesus to a group of people who have abandoned Christianity. They are welcomed by Sir Lachlan Morrison (Graham McTavish, Colombiana, Rambo), the leader of the town, who has arranged their trip. Beth performs a concert at the local church and we later learn that at one point in her career, her songs were all about promiscuity. The people of the town are not interested with Beth and Steve's teachings, rejecting Christ in favor of the Celt goddess Sulis. We learn that a terrible ecological accident occurred in the town, seeping into the water and forcing the community to not have children. The May Day celebration is approaching and Lachlan insists on having both Beth and Steve partaking in their events. Unbeknownst to them, the town plans to sacrifice both to Sulis in order to help increase fertility and restore their population. Will Beth and Steve realize what is happening before it is too late?

Close your eyes and think of the Queen

Despite being written and directed by Robin Hardy, who directed the original The Wicker Man, The Wicker Tree lacks what made The Wicker Man so great. In The Wicker Man, a strong sense of urgency and suspense rings throughout the entire movie. There, we want Sgt. Howie to find the missing girl as all the events lead up to his fateful meeting with the wicker man. In The Wicker Tree, we already know what is going to happen since the movies are so similar in nature. This kills any possible suspense, even though there isn't much to begin with. We know that everything is leading up to the May Day event, but nothing of real consequence happens to get us excited or interested. When you don't have suspense, all you're left with is a middling and boring story. I found myself constantly checking how much time was left just so I could be finished. There's a small side story with a police officer and a local woman, but I failed to see the point. There is a little bit of action towards the end, but it doesn't have the great shock and horror as The Wicker Man's final scene.

The movie also lacks the same strong characters and performances as The Wicker Man. Both Beth and Steve are far too naive and goofy to be considered likable and therefore, the audience has no real interest in what happens to them. Apparently, this is Brittania Nicol's first full-length film and it shows. She's not horrendous and delivers her lines well enough, she just lacks the appropriate emoting needed for such a role. That's partly due to the poor dialogue and lack of character progression. There is a very, very brief scene with Christopher Lee, which caused many to believe that The Wicker Tree was in fact a sequel. In it's original form, The Wicker Tree was going to be titled Cowboys For Christ and had Sean Astin, Christopher Lee, Vanessa Redgrave, and LeAnn Rhimes in major roles. Unfortunately, the project lacked funding and was never picked up. It's a shame, because having a stronger cast would have helped the movie greatly. Also, being under a different name would have reduced expectations. When you hear the word “wicker” in a horror movie title, you have a certain frame of mind when watching and you're bound to be disappointed.

Kids, say no to drugs and companion pieces

 

Though not a true sequel, The Wicker Tree does have the same elements and ideas as The Wicker Man. The stories are very similar and the brief inclusion of Christopher Lee connects the movies even further. Sadly, The Wicker Tree is nowhere near the quality of The Wicker Man in almost every way. The characters are not as good and the acting is nowhere near the quality of The Wicker Man. There is some action, but nothing great. The movie actually has a lot of humor in it, though I didn't really find myself laughing. If the movie was under a different night, I might have been more forgiving, but that is not the case, and I found myself very disappointed with The Wicker Tree.

3/10

Day 276: Ginger Snaps Back

Ginger Snaps Back

Snap into a Slim Jim

I've spoken about my wariness towards sequels before, but I've never discussed prequels. There's a good reason for that because I can't recall ever watching one. I mean, I'm sure it's happened at some point, but nothing comes to mind. I tend to avoid these even more than sequels. I never feel the need to see events “before” the original movie or watch different actors play iconic parts. You now may be wondering why I'm reviewing a prequel today. Well, it wasn't my intention, as I actually thought I was watching a sequel/prequel. Confused, well so was I, especially when I found out that this was the third movie in the series, not the second.

Ginger Snaps Back is the 2004 prequel to Ginger Snaps and Ginger Snaps: Unleashed, once again starring Katharine Isabelle (Freddy vs. Jason, Insomnia) as Ginger and Emily Perkins (Juno, She's The Man) as her sister Brigitte. The movie takes place during the 19^th century in the Canadian frontier. The girls are traveling through the wilderness when they come across an elderly Native American woman. She refers to them as “the red and the black” and warns them that if they do not “kill the boy” one of the sisters will die. Their horse flees and Brigitte chases after it, only to have her leg caught in a bear trap. She is freed by a Cree hunter (Nathaniel Arcand, Crazy Horse, American Outlaws) and, along with Ginger, taken to a nearby fort. They are given food and shelter by the leader Wallace Rowlands (Tom McCamus, Mutant X, The Newsroom), though the men inside are tired and wary of strangers, particularly Reverend Gilbert (Hugh Dillon, Trailer Park Boys, Surveillance). The fort has been under siege by werewolves for some time and their supplies are running low. One night, Ginger is awakened by a voice and searches the house where she finds a young boy cowering in a corner. She approaches him only to be shocked that he is in fact changing into a werewolf. The boy bites her and flees. The sisters discover that the boy is actually Wallace's supposedly dead son, Geoffrey. Ginger begins to change into a werewolf and Brigitte desperately tries to hide her sister's transformation. They learn that only way to reverse the curse of the werewolf is to kill the one who bit you. Will Ginger be able to kill the little boy before being discovered or will the werewolves get into the fort first?

"That's not a knife, this is a...well, it's a sword. Whatever, just die!"

The first Ginger Snaps movie had a pretty definitive ending, so when I saw that Ginger Snaps Back was a prequel, I figured “Well, there was no way they could make a sequel, so this makes sense.” Turns out I was wrong as there is, in fact, a sequel. I apologize in advance if some things are revealed in the second movie that connects the other two. That's my fault, so please let me know if I miss something. The good thing about this error is that Ginger Snaps Back is able to stand as it's own movie. There aren't a lot of references from the previous movies to confuse newcomers and the story self-contained. Of course, the reasoning behind making their story take place in the 19^th century frontier is a bit odd to me. It's not that I don't enjoy the setting, because I do, I'm just not sure how we go from late 90's horror metaphor for puberty to the Canadian wilderness. In lieu of that, the movie's commentary focuses on racism and sexism. It does a fair job of addressing these issues, though the original Ginger Snaps did a far better job of mixing humor and serious commentary.

There is very little explanation to how Ginger and Brigitte got to where they are or how they're connected to the previous movies (besides using the same names and actresses). I was a bit disappointed that more effort wasn't given to the “why” of the movie. Most people speak without accents, which is disappointing, and certain phrases used by the girls are far too modern. The acting is good and I'm glad that both Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins reprized their roles. Sadly, Ginger Snaps Back lacks a lot of the black humor from the first movie which is a shame because it was that humor that separated it from other werewolf movies. The sets and scenery are very good with a grey and dying atmosphere. When shown, the werewolves look good thanks to some nice makeup and special effects. There is a fair amount of action and violence in the movie with decent blood and gore. 

Awoooo, werewolves of Saskatchewan!

I'm not really sure if the Ginger Snaps series needed a period prequel, but we get one anyway. It's a decent werewolf movie, though it could have easily been called something other than Ginger Snaps. The movie can stand on it's own from the series which is both good and bad. There is some good social commentary throughout the film, more than your average werewolf movie. I really enjoyed the original Ginger Snaps and was disappointed in this movie's lack of humor. Despite my disappointment and concern of the necessity to have a prequel, Ginger Snaps Back is still a decent watch with some fun violence. You're better off with the first movie, but this one isn't so bad.

6.5/10