Battle of the Cult Films: The Wicker Man vs. Midsommar.

This is your only warning. Beyond this point there be SPOILERS. If you have not seen The Wicker Man (1973) or Midsommar (2019), PLEASE STOP, and go watch them! If you don’t carry about spoilers, then by all means… read on!

The Wicker Man vs. Midsommar. Gotta love those happy sad times of pagan pagentry.

As a newly-minted teenager way back in 1973, I was mesmerised by The Wicker Man. In a strange way, the horror of cinematic paganism resonated with me much more than it should have. Perhaps it was the fertility rituals and all that female nudity (it was) but I saw The Wicker Man as more of a recruitment film than a horror movie. What’s the cost of a one-way ticket to Summerisle?

Fast-forwarding to 2019, I got similar culty vibes from Midsommar, another movie that I adore. The battle between ancient beliefs and the modern world was far more intriguing to me now that I had significantly less testosterone coursing through my veins. Though I still enjoy the nudity, it doesn’t have the same fevered effect on me as it did when I was 13.

In The Wicker Man, the cult is based on ancient religion a la the deities of yore, practised by those living on Summerisle somewhere in the Hebrides off of Scotland. In Midsommar, it’s the Hårga folks in a remote Swedish village gettin’ all pagan with it beneath the midnight sun. Both films delve into the cult’s customs and rituals set against the norms of mainstream society. But let’s be honest, Midsommar has waaaay better drugs than The Wicker Man, but then, no one can top Sir Christopher Lee at bringing sexy druid priest back — that wicked smile and that glorious freaked-out hair!

It’s all fun and games dancing around the May Pole… until it isn’t.

The Wicker Man is a slice of 1970s cultural conflicts as it follows the intrepid Sergeant Howie to Summerilse to investigate the possible disappearance of a young girl. Once there, our uptight Catholic copper discovers a plethora of Pagan rights that make his traditional Christian eyes burn with revulsion from the incessant folk singing to the shocking horror of full-frontal female nudity! He suspects that the islanders may be sacrificing children in some druidical ceremony — and that’s about as demonic to this proper copper as Britt Eckland’s lack of knickers and her big bountiful bosom! Lord have mercy!

The clash between Howie’s strict Christian principles and the islanders’ free-spirited Paganism is the main theme of the movie. Howie’s conservative religion makes him an outsider. He loathes the sinful debauchery of the cult and believes that it’s his duty as a law enforcement officer and devout Christian to find the missing girl and free her from this corrupt island of lost souls. But are the islanders’ beliefs any crazier than the beliefs of the devoutly stiff cop? After being mortified by a public fertility ceremony where nude girls jump through fires to make them more reproductive, proper Officer Howie chastises Lord Summerilse, ‘Fake biology! Fake religion! Sir, have these children never heard of Jesus?’ to which the always heavenly Sir Christopher Lee retorts, “Himself, the son of a virgin, impregnated, I believe, by a ghost?” One man’s cult is another man’s true faith.

Down at the cult, the drinks are trippy and the events are even trippier!

Midsommar is set almost fifty years later than The Wicker Man when alternative lifestyles and ancient religions are less a taboo than a study-abroad option. Our protagonist, Dani, is struggling with a horrendous family tragedy. She’s extremely fragile and not doing well, but she agrees to join her less-than-supportive boyfriend, Christian (subtle that), along with a few other university students, for a part-OE, part-cultural studies trip to Sweden. Things get weird once they arrive at the rural commune and are welcomed with open arms and persistent glasses of lemonade spiked with powerful hallucinogens. Weeee!

Unlike The Wicker Man, Midsommar offers a different take on pagan practices. In The Wicker Man, the cult’s rituals are framed as a terrifying inheritance from a savage and crimson-stained past. In Midsommar, the cult’s rituals are conducted beneath the sun’s shining rays albeit under the heavy narcotic influence of Grandma’s magic-time lemonade. The Hårga’s rituals are far gorier than those on Summerisle but are conducted in a more amicable manner and with far less trombone accompaniment. Dani is an outsider just like Officer Howie, but she is eventually emancipated by the cult’s deadly practices. Midsommar dives into a conceivable positive aspect of a murderous cult, such as its ability to provide a sense of camaraderie and ownership to a damaged and disregarded young woman. That the Hårga also murder and ritually sacrifice every one of Dani’s travelling companions shows that it’s not all cupcakes and magic-time lemonade under the midnight sun.

These two terror-inducing movies offer an interesting spin on the cult horror theme — one man’s fiery doom is another woman’s glorious liberation. The Wicker Man and Midsommar make for a fantastic and thought-provoking double feature, and a musing reminder that the madness we fear is often a reflection of our own sanctified crazy. So grab some popcorn and get ready to discover how fertility cults can be both terrifying and comforting depending on which side of the fire you’re on. And take it easy on grandma’s Swedish lemonade unless you want to wind up in the bear suit. And nobody wants that.

As Guy Montag once said, "It was a pleasure to burn."

* All images are publicity photos from either “The Wicker Man” 1973 or “Midsommar” 2019.

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Copyright © 2025 Anthony H. Roberts