The Wicker Man (novel) for the film, but were cut to reduce running time and have not been seen since the loss of the film negative. For example, the character of Lord Summerisle's gillie is restored, and the reader learns of Howie's interest in bird-watching. The novelization reveals that Sergeant Neil Howie had originally attempted to become a priest, but that he was daunted by the prospect of preaching the minority faith of Episcopalianism in the staunchly Presbyterian Scottish Highlands. Howie's relationship with his fiancée, Mary Bannock, is explored in greater detail. Allan Brown writes that Howie's arguments with Lord Summerisle have more impact
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