THE WICKER MAN (1973) – Grindfest 2026

Dirt in the Gate Movies // Arrow Video Presents: GRINDFEST – THE WICKER MAN (1973) – [35mm]

1973 | 90m | UK | (15) | 1.85:1 | Mono

“What religion can they possibly be learning jumping over bonfires?”

GRINDFEST 2026 concludes with Robin Hardy’s all time classic folk horror, THE WICKER MAN. Few films have grown in stature as dramatically, a work once dismissed as an oddity and now revered as a cornerstone of British folk horror. Robin Hardy’s 1973 masterpiece unfolds with a slow, sunlit unease, drawing its power not from shadows but from the bright, disquieting normality of Summer isle — a place where ancient rituals thrive in plain sight and the modern world feels strangely out of place.

Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward), a devout Christian policeman who arrives on the remote island to investigate a missing girl. What he encounters instead is a community bound by pagan traditions, erotic energy, and a worldview that challenges every certainty he carries with him. As Howie’s search deepens, the islanders’ songs, dances, and celebrations take on a sinister resonance, building toward one of the most unforgettable climaxes in British cinema.

Beyond its surface mystery, The Wicker Man endures because it is a film about belief: the clash between faiths, the seduction of community, and the terrifying certainty of those who think they are right. It is a story that grows richer with each viewing, revealing new layers of satire, spirituality, and psychological tension.

This 35mm screening offers a rare chance to experience The Wicker Man as audiences first did — as a folk parable, a musical, a thriller, and a cultural provocation all at once. It remains one of the most singular films ever produced in Britain, a work whose flames still burn brightly more than fifty years on.

The DITG team are thrilled to screen this from an original 35mm IB Technicolor print!

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