The source of inspiration can be unexpected. If the style is distinguishable and peculiar, it usually comes from different references that all combined have somehow given something coherent that is fascinating. Tim Burton is one of the most idiosyncratic cases of visual and narrative personalitywith several different creative pillars that solidify his proposal.
The twisted figures, the intense colors and the sinister designs but straight out of a drawing board (his Disney past is important here) are the aspects that come directly to mind when thinking about his films because they are so prominent. Thus, so is his empathy with monsters or with misfits, with those who clearly feel alienated in a society that could be normal but Burton see how strange. Something that he can certainly have taken from ‘The Wicker Man’.
Trapped in a dangerous society
The masterful piece of folk horror and momentous piece of Robyn Hardy’s work, available to view via Filmin, creates a nightmare in rural england through the persecution of an individual by a strange society. Even with disparate tones, the story that is presented to us shows details that do not seem so far removed from the societies that Burton satirically presents in films like ‘Edward Scissorhands’.
We are shown how a Scotland Yard sergeant heads to an island region of the English countryside to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a young woman who has been lost in the area. A conservative policeman to the extreme, a fervent religious follower, who will be upset with the attitudes of the townspeople until encountering a terrifying reality in the form of a pagan cult.
The religious cult becomes the main source of criticism of Hardy’s work, who does not hesitate to use light touches of satire to amplify the madness that the fans show in order to worship a cult that seems crazy when you don’t share the same perspective. That figure of the foreigner is essential to get us into the whole conflict, and without a doubt reflects details of incomprehension that Burton takes further in his empathy for the misfits.
‘The wicker man’: cult of the point
But there aren’t just great virtues and finds for those seeking connections to Sinister Tim. With a meager budget he creates images to rememberhe manages a sensation of paranoia and incredible persecution and Christopher Lee’s work is absolutely iconic (even he himself places his work very high within a very complete filmography).
It continues to be a highly commented film, especially with the appearance of works like ‘Midsommar’ or ‘Men’ that have vindicated their contribution to terror from British folklore, terrifying legends and extreme cults. The fact that Burton has it among his five favorite films goes beyond the thematic, it is an essential film.