To this day, I still cannot figure out why Hollywood has such a love affair with remakes (other than the obvious lack of creativity left there…). The idea seems to be that it’s a good idea to take either a great or simply classic film (and in some cases both), spit out an updated script, cast some big name actors… and expect audiences to fall over themselves getting to theatres to see them. The added benefit of 'movie title recognition' delivers a lot of free advertising. The trouble is, most of these films are so spectacularly far below their original counterparts in terms of quality as to be laughable. Audiences flock for a day or two, then wait for the DVD. To be fair, there have been a handful of remakes that were better than average, like…. like… uh…. okay I can't really think of one now, but I'll work on it. The remake I'm here to talk about a little bit today is not one of those.

In 1973, audiences accepted "The Wicker Man" as an exceptionally creepy little movie about a community of whacked out pagans. In 2006, director Neil LaBute thought it would be a good idea to remake the film with Nicolas Cage taking the place of Edward Woodward. He thought wrong.

The original "Wicker Man" is not necessarily a favorite of mine, though I do recognize why it has sustained a 'classic' status. It was very dark, and somewhat ahead of its time in terms the mocking tone it took at modern Christianity. While not a great horror film, it is still quite an effective one. The remake takes the same general story, which involves a community mainly made up of women who take the idea of paganistic rituals a little too seriously. It adds a touch of modernization but is hardly effective in any way. Where the original is kind of slow… this one rather plodding.

It's difficult to really review a remake without comparing it to the original, but admittedly it's not really altogether fair. Occasionally the remake can stand on its own when seen by audiences unfamiliar with the original. Watching the new "Wicker Man", I tried to push the original out of my head, but still found the film to be kind of a bore. The performances are rather weak, the script really banal… but hey…. There are a handful of decent visual sequences courtesy of the lead character's dreams!!

Warner Brothers is releasing the DVD this month, right around the same time as the re-release of the original, in a DVD set offering up two versions of the film. You have the choice of watching the original theatrical version OR the unrated extended edition with an alternate ending. I opted for the extended edition, though in retrospect I'm not sure why. Perhaps I hoped that the extended version would somehow be better. Instead, it was just longer.

The DVD also has a commentary by Labute, who is joined by actresses Leelee Sobieski and Kate Beanan, as well as editor Joel Plotch and costume designer Lynette Meyer. I really wasn't sure what to expect here as I wondered if they knew the film was a bad as it was. Turns out they don’t touch on that fact at all and instead focused more on how the film was put together and why certain decisions were made. Not a great commentary, but it had a much better script than the feature. That's pretty much it as far as special features.

"The Wicker Man" was one of those remakes that was wholly unnecessary and really did nothing to improve upon the original.

Directed by: Neil LaBute
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Beahan, Frances Conroy, Molly Parker, Leelee Sobieski,
Extras: 2 Editions of the Movie (Unrated with Alternate Ending or Original Theatrical), Commentary by Writer/Director Neil LaBute, Co-Stars Leelee Sobieski and Kate Beahan, Editor Joel Plotch and Costume Designer Lynette Meyer, Theatrical Trailer
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Warner
Release Date: 12/19/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Disturbing Images and Violence, Language and Thematic Issues)
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We'll give The Wicker Man (2006) a D.