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 Fiction films in Paris, but largely slipped into obscurity. In 1977 the American film magazine "Cinefantastique" devoted a commemorative issue to the film, asserting that the film is "the "Citizen Kane" of horror movies" – an oft-quoted phrase attributed to this issue. Decades after its release, the film still receives positive reviews from critics and is considered one of the best films of 1973. At the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, "The Wicker Man" holds a 90% "Fresh" rating based on 48 reviews, with a weighted average score of 7.8/10 and the site's consensus: "This intelligent horror film is subtle