Nice poster for cult sequel The Wicker Tree

I bet you were wondering after watching the trailer for The Wicker Tree, if this film has anything to do with that crappy remake of The Wicker Man from 2006, with Nicolas Cage and Ellen Burstyn. Well, not exactly. The Wicker Tree is directed by Robin Hardy, who wrote the original book, titled “Cowboys for Christ”, and directed the 1973 cult classic film.

That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to fear. The Wicker Tree was completed in 2010, and is described as a re-imagining of his eerie 1973 film, both of which have me concerned. It’s getting only a limited release, another point of concern. But this poster I found in a press kit is gorgeous piece of art, filled with mystery and grace.

In The Wicker Tree, two young missionaries (Brittania Nicol, Henry Garrett) head to Scotland, and are initially charmed by their engaging baron Sir Lachlan Morrison (Graham McTavish), agreeing to become the local Queen of the May and Laddie for the annual Tressock town festival. But the couple is not prepared for the frightening consequences of their decision and the very disturbing secrets they are about to discover about Tressock’s seemingly friendly townspeople.

Written and directed by Robin Hardy as a companion piece to his 1973 classic cult thriller The Wicker Man, The Wicker Tree also features Jacqueline Leonard, Honeysuckle Weeks, and Clive Russell, with Christopher Lee, the star of Hardy’s original film. The film is also produced by Peter Snell, who returns as producer from the original, along with Peter Watson-Wood and Alastair Gourlay.

Check out the poster (and the trailer, in case you haven’t seen it on TV) for The Wicker Tree. The film will begin a limited release on January 27, 2012.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9lbpkc6w2Y

I also found this rare poster from one of Hardy’s other cult classic films, The Fantasist, from 1986. The Fantasist centers on a serial killer running around the suburbs to Dublin, Ireland, called “Phone Call Killer”.