Wicker horror comes to the Borders
David Knox • Published 5 Sep 2011 09:30
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Beth (Brittanie Nicol) in one of the final scenes from the Wicker Tree.
IT is still regarded as one of the UK's greatest movies.
Last weekend a long-overdue companion film to the Wicker Man had its European premiere in London.
And it is likely to make the Scottish Borders a new hotbed for movie tourism.
The Wicker Tree, written by Wicker Man director Robin Hardy, tells the story of two Christian cult members who travel from America to the Borders.
Using many of the region's customs, including Common Ridings and Festivals, Hardy weaves yet another sinister Pagan plot which made the original 1974 film such a cult classic.
The Wicker Tree showcased at Leicester Square's Empire Cinema on Sunday. Ahead of the premiere Hardy told the Border Telegraph: "Wicker Man was a fairly complex story and I always thought that we could use the same genre again. I liked the ceremonies of the Borders, and thought they lent themselves well to the story."
Hardie originally wrote his Wickerman follow-up almost a decade ago, using the working title Riding of the Laddie. The plot, which centres around the fictional community of Tressock, has remained the same, although the title changed to Cowboys of Christ for the original 2006 book release.
The film version of the story became The Wicker Tree. Hardie explained: "In the transition from book to film we have kept the yearly drama of riding after the Laddie - a reality to this day in the little Border towns where almost everyone seems to have a horse.
"All sorts of myth laundering cannot disguise how the most handsome young man, the cleverest and the bravest, elected by all as their Laddie each year, could never have been hunted over heather and heath simply to sit down at the climax of the chase for a cosy picnic of cup cakes, canned beer and tea."
Christopher Lee, of Lord of the Rings, Dracula and Star Wars fame, is the only original Wicker Man cast member to appear in this latest Hardie offering.
He is joined in the Wicker Tree by Honeysuckle Weeks, from Foyle's War, Clive Russell, from Auf Wiedersehen Pet, and Graham McTavish, who most recently appeared in Lost.
The $8 million budget flick is expected to go on general release before the end of the year. And it could deliver an unexpected tourism boost to the area.
Since the release of the Wicker Man, which was filmed mainly in Dumfriess and Galloway, in the mid 1970s it has led to a steady stream of fans visiting the locations and staying in Creetown's Ellangowan Hotel, where many of the most memorable indoor scenes were shot.
The original film has also spawned a successful music festival each year at Dundrennan.
The Wicker Tree novel, which accompanies the film, is published by Luath Press Ltd on September 6.
This article appeared in Border Telegraph 05 Sep 11
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