“Together with her childhood boyfriend, who is a proper cowboy, they set off for Scotland,” Hardy continues, “and the theme is that, as in many European countries, God has almost disappeared. That was a turning point in her life, and when we meet her she’s already a star, getting around in the obligatory long white limo, and has decided to do some service to God. As you know, anyone can become a pop voice-you or I-with electronic help, but she can really sing, and has decided she wants to be a proper singer. “During that period, when she was being exploited by her father, she discovered she had a real voice. “One of them is a young woman who has become a sort of Britney Spears-like pop singer,” Hardy explains. That original title is derived from an actual ministry in Texas, and the movie’s storyline opens outside Dallas and focuses on a couple of attractive young missionaries. Since I’d already written the book, Cowboys for Christ, I decided to make a movie of it.” And that made me want to do the other one that had been in my mind for a few years. They just used the plot and threw away all the atmosphere and charm, the things which lulled you into a sense of this being a marvelous, fun kind of community, and then wham!-at the end you get the nasty surprise of how wicked people can be en masse when they feel they’ve got a good reason. “It had been in my mind to do another movie,” Hardy says, “and when they made the Nicolas Cage version, I thought they missed the point of the first film completely. Fango got a chance to speak with Hardy exclusively about the new project, which was partially encouraged by the misbegotten 2006 remake of The Wicker Man starring Nicolas Cage. Not only was a 35mm print of the movie screened with Hardy in attendance, but the director unveiled 10 minutes of clips from his latest feature The Wicker Tree (formerly known as Cowboys for Christ). Īt New York City’s 92YTribeca, fans of Robin Hardy’s 1973 British horror classic The Wicker Man got a special treat.

Editor's Note: This was originally published for FANGORIA on May 9, 2010, and we're proud to share it as part of The Gingold Files.

The Wicker Man by Robin Hardy