Wicker Man redux

Ammong Gilbert at Arrow in the Head alerts us to the news that director Robin Hardy and star Christopher Lee are re-teaming to make a film version of Hardy’s novel, Cowboys for Christ. Hardy previously directed Lee in the 1973 cult film The Wicker Man, written by Anthony Shaffer (Sleuth). The mystery-horror film, which told of an hard-nosed Christian police officers attempt to find a missing girl on an island inhabited by pagans intent on human sacrifice, was called “the Citizen Kane of horror films” by Cinefantastique’s creator, publisher and editor, the late Frederick S. Clarke.
Hardy’s novel is not a direct sequel, but it does cover similar territory. The story follows a young conservative Christian couple from Texas who head overseas to preach in Europe. In Scotland they encounter a local fiefdom presided over by Lachlan Morrison (presumably Lee’s role, corresponding to Lord Summerisle in Wicker Man). They receive a warm welcome, but are the locals really interested in their message of the gospels, or do they have their own agenda? Continue reading “Wicker Man redux”