Expert: Popcorn Guy - 4/14/2008

Question
In 1974, when I was pregnant with my daughter, I saw a movie in the theater
that scared me, and I'm trying to remember the title/actor, whatever. It was
an English movie (I'm pretty sure) and the main character was a police officer
sent to an island off of the British Isles to find a missing schoolgirl. There are
cult type of activities going on, centered around a Maypole type of celebration
that will be happening, quasi-religious. At the end of the movie, there's a
procession and the officer thinks the girl may be used as a "sacrifice" of some
type. At the end, he's lured into a giant straw figure and realizes that he is the
sacrifice. The leader of the island reminds me of Christopher Walken, but I
realize that it probably can't be him, due to the timing of the film. The officer
is burned to death in the figure, along with various animals, at the end of the
film. What is the name of the movie, and who plays the leader of the island?
Thanks for any info you can give me :).

Answer
Margo...

You warm my heart... you are looking for one of my favorite scary movies... "The Wicker Man," made in 1973, starred Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee (the leader of the island you mentioned). It's legendary for just how creepy it is... it was also recently remade, not so successfully, with Nicolas Cage as the lead.. do yourself a favor and skip the remake... you can find the original on Amazon.com for about $11 or so, cheaper if you want a used copy...

Hope this helps,

PCG