The Wicker Man four requirements: he came of his own free will, with "the power of a king" (by representing the Law), is a virgin, and is a fool. Defiant, Howie loudly warns Lord Summerisle and the islanders that the fruit-tree strains are failing permanently and that the villagers will turn on him (Lord Summerisle) and sacrifice him next summer when the next harvest fails as well; Summerisle angrily insists that the sacrifice of the "willing, king-like, virgin fool" will be accepted and that the next harvest will not fail. The villagers force Howie inside a giant wicker man statue, set it ablaze
The Wicker Man by critics. Film magazine "Cinefantastique" described it as "The "Citizen Kane" of horror movies", and in 2004 "Total Film" magazine named "The Wicker Man" the sixth greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, the burning Wicker Man scene was No. 45 on Bravo's "100 Scariest Movie Moments", and during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony the film was included as part of a sequence that celebrated British cinema. In 2013, a copy of the original U.S. theatrical version was digitally restored and released. In 1989, Shaffer wrote a script treatment