Nicolas Cage has made some questionable career choices over the years and none have been more questionable than the 2006 remake of The Wicker Man. The 1973 original film, which is based on the 1967 novel “Ritual” by David Pinner, is regarded as one of the better horror films of all time, thanks mostly to a particularly chilling final act. The remake isn’t nearly as respected. In fact, its interpretation of the film’s conclusion has been known to generate laughs but Nicolas Cage is now saying that was the point.
The Wicker Man tells the story of a police officer who visits a small island in search of a missing girl to only discover a sinister group of neo-pagans who live there. The remake, which starred Nicolas Cage, has been called “unintentionally funny” by many critics and moviegoers but Cage insists there was nothing unintentional about it. While speaking with Indiewire Cage said, “I know people had fun with that even if they thought the comedy was not intentional. I’m going on record right now: That is not a fact. Neil [LaBute] and I both knew how funny it was. It probably would’ve been more clear how funny it was if [producer] Avi Lerner let me have the handlebar mustache that I wanted to wear and be burned in the bear suit. That would’ve been so horrifying, but they didn’t go for that because all the comedy would’ve emerged from this horror. But Ari Aster did it brilliantly in Midsommar. That was terrifying, but they didn’t have the vision that Neil and I had for it.”
There you have it! The film was a comedy and we totally missed the point…I guess. Whatever the case, the execution didn’t work for many and the movie became a critical and financial misfire. The film holds a rotten score of 15% on Rotten Tomatoes and it grossed $23.6 million domestically on a $40 million budget. The movie also earned five Razzie Award nominations, including Worst Picture and Worst Actor for Cage but, (thankfully?), the film walked home with zero of those honors.
Do YOU think The Wicker Man remake was meant to be a comedy?