2 Jan 2007

The Wicker Man

Director: Neil LaBute

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Leelee Sobieski, Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker, Frances Conroy, Christa Campbell, Aaron Eckhart

Release: 2007-01-02

In this laughably bad remake of a cult 1974 horror flick, Nicolas Cage plays a cop who goes to a remote island to investigate the disappearance of a girl. There, he finds a closed community of beekeepers who live with the barest minimum of 20th century technology (and we're already in the 21st) . Everyone there insists that the girl doesn't even exist, but our Little Nicky suspects otherwise...

There are so many things about this horror film that's just so plain stupid, we're hard-pressed to pick the silliest example. Ellen Burstyn looks pretty dumb as the leader of this community of weirdos, but Nicolas Cage — playing a normal person — actually manages to look even dumber with his frantic over-acting.

The original 1974 was a campy, trippy, schlocky little horror film that reveled in its own silliness — perfect for the 70s marijuana generation. The new version, however, just looks strange and ridiculous. Only fans of disastrously bad films should go see this.