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2. While the element of sacrifice is taken to a horror movie extreme, there are various elements of ritual sacrifice in many religions. What is the difference between these practices and biblical sacrifice? Consider Old Testament sacrifices, and how these point to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross. What does that sacrifice mean to you personally
3. The film imagines a society dominated by women, where men are not only subservient but also silenced. What is the biblical view of the relationship between men and women? Jesus was radical for giving women much greater status than was usual in the culture of his day, while Paul wrote of women submitting to men in certain situations (and of husbands submitting to their wives in love). How should these scriptural texts be applied in our relationships? At what point are they cultural, and how do they apply to your daily life?

The Wicker Man is rated PG-13 for disturbing images and violence, language and thematic issues. It is not for children or sensitive viewers. There is reference to a child conceived outside of marriage. The island residents live in an extremely cult-like social structure. There are loud and frightening images of a fatal car accident, and horrific images of drowned children, human fetuses and human sacrifice.

Photos © Copyright Warner Bros.

© Ron Reed 2006, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) isn't too pleased with Neil LaBute's remake of this cult classic. "Following the basic outline of the original, minus the eroticism and adding a feminist twist … LaBute generates some suspense in his cerebral approach, but overall the film is a bland and unnecessary retread, more hokey than creepy as the story progresses."

Horror-movie fans get chills when they think back on Robin Hardy's 1973 thriller The Wicker Man, a cult classic.

So, there was some speculation when director Neil Labute (In the Company of Men, Nurse Betty, Possession) decided to remake it. And, in spite of its two celebrated stars, Nicolas Cage and Ellen Burstyn, critics are saying the speculation was well founded. The movie, while not a total disaster, doesn't pack the punch of the original.

Bob Hoose (Plugged In) is upset that the film doesn't turn out too well for the hero. "Just because a film escapes an R rating doesn't mean it's not disturbing. … The Wicker Man leaves us staring at a pretty, but frightening face that says evil wins, get used to it."

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) says "LaBute generates some suspense in his cerebral approach, but overall the film is a bland and unnecessary retread, more hokey than creepy as the story progresses."

Most mainstream critics much prefer the original.

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