Loosely based on the 1967 novel "Ritual" by David Pinner, this is an absolute masterpiece from beginning to end. The superb and extremely clever script by Anthony Shaffer is pitch perfect in every respect. Robin Hardy directs the material with such skill and energy that it is hard to believe that this was not only his directorial debut but that he only directed two other films, though a third is reportedly on the way. It has an atmosphere quite unlike any other that I have seen. I have seldom come across a soundtrack that adds so much to a film as the compositions by Paul Giovanni - and the accompanying ritual dances - really sell the idea that we are being confronted with a cult that has had little contact with the outside world for decades.
I am most certainly a connoisseur of horror films and this is my clear favourite. While they are some very frightening and highly memorable visuals, the thing that I adore most about the film is that it concerns the evil that men do as opposed to vampires, werewolves, (on screen) gods and monsters. In this sense, it is a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of the darker side of humanity, the mob mentality engendered by cults and the extremes to which people will go in the name of their religious beliefs. These issues are examined through the prism of paganism but it could really apply to any religion since, throughout recorded history and probably well before that, people have justified killing their enemies and committing other heinous crimes on the grounds that it is what their god or gods wanted. Unfortunately, that is unlikely to change any time soon. This film secured a place in my Top 20 when I first saw it a little over a year ago. While it is still a member of that select group, it has received a very slight demotion from 14th to 16th place. As such, it has gone from being my favourite 1970s film to my second favourite after "A Bridge Too Far". However, considering that the 1970s is one of my favourite film decades, that's still pretty good.
The film stars Edward Woodward in one of his best performances as Sgt. Neil Howie, a devoutly Christian police officer who ventures to the remote island of Summerisle off the western coast of Scotland on April 29, 1973, two days before May Day. Having received a letter addressed to him personally, Howie has come to Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl named Rowan Morrison, who has not been seen for months. He is greatly disturbed by the fact that the inhabitants of Summerisle worship the ancient Celtic gods and get up to all sorts of degeneracy, debauchery and deviancy. He is particularly disgusted by the schoolteacher Miss Rose teaching her class of young girls that the maypole is a phallic symbol. However, a more serious concern is the conspiracy of silence that pervades Summerisle since everyone on the island, including her mother, initially denies that Rowan existed. Miss Rose later claims that she and the others were telling the truth, after a fashion, since they believe that a person's soul returns to nature "when the human life is over." As such, they do not recognise death in the same manner as other, more...mainstream religions and the civil authorities. In the course of his investigation, however, Howie comes to suspect that Rowan is still alive and the islanders' celebration of May Day will not be as innocent as those which take place on the mainland. Howie's puritanical beliefs are a crucial aspect of both his character and the film itself. Woodward does an excellent job at conveying Howie's religious fervour and the sheer revulsion that he feels at the behaviour and warped sensibilities of the islanders.
Although he is far less screen time that Woodward, Christopher Lee nevertheless steals the show as Lord Summerisle, the island's fiercely intelligent, very charismatic and frightening leader. His Lordship's grandfather was an agronomist who, in 1868, discovered the island's unique properties when it came to the growing of, by the British Isles' standards, exotic fruit. More to the point, the earlier Lord Summerisle fostered the belief in the islanders that the old gods would bless Summerisle with prosperity if the strains were successful. His son and grandson continued this policy to great and terrifying effect. Lee is one of my absolute favourite actors and he brings all of the considerable talent at his disposal to the role of Lord Summerisle. He loved the script so much that he agreed to do the film for the free and often described it as the best film that he made in a career that included more than 200 projects over the course of seven decades.
Britt Ekland is dubbed by Annie Ross for her memorable role as the landlord's daughter Willow MacGregor, not the kind of girl that you'd bring home to your mother, but that's okay since she was never much of an actress. Anyway, I have a sneaking suspicion that she may have been hired with the very sexy yet very strange nude dancing scene in mind! Diane Cilento, who later married Shaffer incidentally, is excellent as Miss Rose, one of the more unorthodox teachers to ever grace the silver screen. The film also features strong performances from Ingrid Pitt as the rather incongruously Polish accented librarian, Aubrey Morris as the incredibly creepy gravedigger, Lindsay Kemp as the only slightly less creepy Alder MacGregor and Irene Sunter as Rowan's mother May Morrison.
Overall, this is an absolutely wonderful film with some very interesting things to say about human nature. This is the sort of the film that never really leaves you once you've seen it.
I am most certainly a connoisseur of horror films and this is my clear favourite. While they are some very frightening and highly memorable visuals, the thing that I adore most about the film is that it concerns the evil that men do as opposed to vampires, werewolves, (on screen) gods and monsters. In this sense, it is a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of the darker side of humanity, the mob mentality engendered by cults and the extremes to which people will go in the name of their religious beliefs. These issues are examined through the prism of paganism but it could really apply to any religion since, throughout recorded history and probably well before that, people have justified killing their enemies and committing other heinous crimes on the grounds that it is what their god or gods wanted. Unfortunately, that is unlikely to change any time soon. This film secured a place in my Top 20 when I first saw it a little over a year ago. While it is still a member of that select group, it has received a very slight demotion from 14th to 16th place. As such, it has gone from being my favourite 1970s film to my second favourite after "A Bridge Too Far". However, considering that the 1970s is one of my favourite film decades, that's still pretty good.
The film stars Edward Woodward in one of his best performances as Sgt. Neil Howie, a devoutly Christian police officer who ventures to the remote island of Summerisle off the western coast of Scotland on April 29, 1973, two days before May Day. Having received a letter addressed to him personally, Howie has come to Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl named Rowan Morrison, who has not been seen for months. He is greatly disturbed by the fact that the inhabitants of Summerisle worship the ancient Celtic gods and get up to all sorts of degeneracy, debauchery and deviancy. He is particularly disgusted by the schoolteacher Miss Rose teaching her class of young girls that the maypole is a phallic symbol. However, a more serious concern is the conspiracy of silence that pervades Summerisle since everyone on the island, including her mother, initially denies that Rowan existed. Miss Rose later claims that she and the others were telling the truth, after a fashion, since they believe that a person's soul returns to nature "when the human life is over." As such, they do not recognise death in the same manner as other, more...mainstream religions and the civil authorities. In the course of his investigation, however, Howie comes to suspect that Rowan is still alive and the islanders' celebration of May Day will not be as innocent as those which take place on the mainland. Howie's puritanical beliefs are a crucial aspect of both his character and the film itself. Woodward does an excellent job at conveying Howie's religious fervour and the sheer revulsion that he feels at the behaviour and warped sensibilities of the islanders.
Although he is far less screen time that Woodward, Christopher Lee nevertheless steals the show as Lord Summerisle, the island's fiercely intelligent, very charismatic and frightening leader. His Lordship's grandfather was an agronomist who, in 1868, discovered the island's unique properties when it came to the growing of, by the British Isles' standards, exotic fruit. More to the point, the earlier Lord Summerisle fostered the belief in the islanders that the old gods would bless Summerisle with prosperity if the strains were successful. His son and grandson continued this policy to great and terrifying effect. Lee is one of my absolute favourite actors and he brings all of the considerable talent at his disposal to the role of Lord Summerisle. He loved the script so much that he agreed to do the film for the free and often described it as the best film that he made in a career that included more than 200 projects over the course of seven decades.
Britt Ekland is dubbed by Annie Ross for her memorable role as the landlord's daughter Willow MacGregor, not the kind of girl that you'd bring home to your mother, but that's okay since she was never much of an actress. Anyway, I have a sneaking suspicion that she may have been hired with the very sexy yet very strange nude dancing scene in mind! Diane Cilento, who later married Shaffer incidentally, is excellent as Miss Rose, one of the more unorthodox teachers to ever grace the silver screen. The film also features strong performances from Ingrid Pitt as the rather incongruously Polish accented librarian, Aubrey Morris as the incredibly creepy gravedigger, Lindsay Kemp as the only slightly less creepy Alder MacGregor and Irene Sunter as Rowan's mother May Morrison.
Overall, this is an absolutely wonderful film with some very interesting things to say about human nature. This is the sort of the film that never really leaves you once you've seen it.