Shitty version of The Wicker Man

I know, I was trying to amuse.

That said, I personally like the one with Cage despite its notorious reputation. Here's why: The story is generally entertaining, sometimes fun and, at times, amusing. For instance, the scene where Cage talks with the "barmaid" and the patrons has some laugh-out-loud aspects. There are other humorous moments (Cage apprehending the bicycle: "STEP AWAY FROM THE BIKE!", running around in a bear costume, the dead girl suddenly appearing in his arms on the dock, numerous hilarious lines like "OH NO, NOT THE BEES, NOT THE BEES!!", etc.). Despite this, the picture somehow maintains a serious aura and the ending is more horrifying than the original. The original, by contrast, was dead-pan serious and never entertained in this manner.

I know you're joking but --in case you're a little serious -- the titular "wicker man" refers to a rattan-like death trap that's revealed in the final act and is linked to the islanders' kooky religion.

This isn't really a spoiler since it's shown on the DVD sleeve, front and back, both the 1973 and 2006 versions; the movie poster too.

Yes. I did.

That's one of the things that felt inconsistent. Up to that point there was zero indication that Quinn wasn't happy with his brother Malcolm's leadership with the cult on the island. The plot turn struck me as abrupt and suggested clumsy scriptwriting.

It was like the director/writer (same person) needed 20 more minutes to properly tell the story, but was pressured to keep the movie as close to 2 hours as possible and so awkwardly forced the footage in the second half together.

That said, the movie's provocative upon reflection, particularly its commentary on human-made hybrid religions and the potential for corruption and abuse thereof. So the ideas are good, it's just that the execution in the second half was poor.