‘The Wicker Man: The Final Cut’ Trailer Dances With Naked Pagans

By  · Published on September 4th, 2013

The Wicker Man

First of all, don’t watch this if you’ve never seen The Wicker Man because it spoils everything.

Second of all, don’t watch this if you have a fear of creepy animal masks or bare buttocks.

Director Robin Hardy’s original vision for the horror story about a policeman searching a remote island for a missing girl while going haircut-to-haircut with the charismatic town leader (played by Christopher Lee) is finally going to see theaters. The release that became a cult classic will have 14 never-before-seen minutes added to it (or re-attached really), and it’s of course been restored.

It’s sort of a strange sensation to see a trailer for a 40-year-old film and get excited by it like it was brand new, but even though they’ve kept the newer footage hidden here, there is a fresh sense of urgency here that’s infectious.

Check it out for yourself, and just for fun, here’s the original 1973 trailer for comparison:

And, yeah, I know: Bees! Got it.

Hardy is currently trying to complete the trilogy with a film called Wrath of the Gods, but this definitive version of the first flick will see UK theaters this month with a limited US release September 27th (followed by more screenings this Fall) and a DVD/Blu-ray release very soon.

Movie stuff at VanityFair, Thrillist, IndieWire, Film School Rejects, and The Broken Projector Podcast@brokenprojector | Writing short stories at Adventitious.