CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN

 

On the surface, the 2024 documentary CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN is an examination of the making of a 1973 folk horror movie that has gained massive critical acclaim. It is more accurate, however, to point out that it's really about two brothers (from different mothers) struggling to come to grips with how they feel about their father. 

The brothers are Justin and Dominic Hardy, and their father was Robin Hardy, the man who directed THE WICKER MAN, a picture now considered one of the greatest horror films ever made. Justin and Dominic Hardy, along with Chris Nunn, are credited as directors of CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN. 

The brothers were inspired to make this film after getting access to a large collection of their father's personal papers. The brothers delve into the papers to trace the production history of THE WICKER MAN and they also venture to Scotland to visit many of the movie's shooting locations. They also interview several people who worked on the film. Their findings establish that it was a chaotic production with all sorts of financial difficulties and egos getting in the way. (In later life Robin Hardy was celebrated at various festivals and screenings for his direction of THE WICKER MAN, but CHILDREN shows that many who worked alongside him during the shoot thought he was in over his head--even though Hardy had plenty of experience on commercials he had never helmed a feature film before.) The documentary also goes into THE WICKER MAN's original reception (or lack thereof), and how it grew into a cult item. 

CHILDREN really shines when it focuses on the Hardy family drama. There's no doubt Robin Hardy had a complicated personal life--he was married five times and he had eight children. He also had numerous financial issues that affected his family and friends. As the documentary goes along, we see how Justin and Dominic Hardy try to come to some sort of mental resolution over their feelings about their father and his cinematic legacy. 

My take on THE WICKER MAN is that it certainly is a unique and unsettling film, especially when one watches it for the very first time, but I wouldn't give it the oft-used label "the CITIZEN KANE of horror movies". The human dynamics behind THE WICKER MAN take center stage in this documentary. At the end of it Robin Hardy remains an enigma, much like the film that he is best known for. CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN shows that behind any creative endeavor there are real people, and how these people interact with and treat one another has far more repercussions than any movie's legacy.