The Wicker Man have been more fantastical in subject matter than the original film, and relied more heavily on special effects. In this continuation of the story, which begins immediately after the ending of the first film, Sergeant Neil Howie is rescued from the burning Wicker Man by a group of police officers from the mainland. Howie sets out to bring Lord Summerisle and his pagan followers to justice, but becomes embroiled in a series of challenges which pit the old gods against his own Christian faith. The script culminates in a climactic battle between Howie and a fire-breathing dragon – the titular
The Wicker Man film ever made. In his 2010 BBC documentary series "A History of Horror", writer and actor Mark Gatiss referred to the film as a prime example of a short-lived subgenre he called "folk horror", grouping it with 1968's "Witchfinder General" and 1971's "The Blood on Satan's Claw". In 2003, the Crichton Campus of the University of Glasgow in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway hosted a three-day conference on "The Wicker Man". The conference led to two collections of articles about the film. In 2006, "The Wicker Man" ranked No, 45 on Bravo's "100 Scariest Movie Moments". British heavy metal band Iron