The Wicker Man (film series) Scottish police officer, Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward), who visits the isolated island of Summerisle in the search for a missing girl named Rowan Morrison. The inhabitants of Summerisle all follow a form of Celtic paganism, which shocks and appalls the devoutly Christian sergeant. Howie discovers that the pagans, led by their laird, Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), are planning a human sacrifice in the hopes that it will appease the gods and restore their crops. Believing that Rowan Morrison will be sacrificed, Howie strives to rescue her, only to discover that her supposed disappearance was just a ploy to lure
The Wicker Man enjoyable piece of hokum, thoroughly well researched, performed and directed." "Variety" wrote that Anthony Shaffer's screenplay "for sheer imagination and near-terror, has seldom been equalled." Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" called it "a witty work of the macabre" with "the splendid performances typical of British films." Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" was more negative, calling it "handsomely photographed" with "good performances," but "something of a howl" even though "it seems to have been made in all seriousness." "The Wicker Man" initially had moderate success and won first prize in the 1974 Festival of Fantasy and Science