Similar themes in WICKER MAN -- and other thoughts
** SPOILERS about both movies -- WICKER MAN and EYE OF THE DEVIL **
I just finished watching THE EYE OF THE DEVIL and saw resemblances throughout to THE WICKER MAN, but of course the premise dates back to antiquity and shows up in other stories/films like Tom Tryon's HARVEST HOME and Shirley Jackson's great short story "The Lottery". EYE OF THE DEVIL came out long before WICKER MAN, but it would be interesting to compare the source material for each film. The similarities to WICKER MAN are particularly prominent -- a failing harvest, a prominent land-owner whom the locals look to for salvation, a conspiracy to deceive and delude. But the victim/martyr turns out to be a different personage than you might guess. And in EotD the finale hints that this family tradition will continue for countless generations. (Didja catch how the family name begins with the letters D-E-M-O-N?!)
But ultimately it's futile to debate if one writer was directly influenced by another. Both concepts heavily rely on ancient lore -- offer a human sacrifice to coerce the hidden forces behind nature to bless us with a bountiful harvest. And this is probably deeply rooted within the Human Psyche.
Both films include the ancient tradition that the sacrifice will be made by a "King for a Day" -- a person who is temporarily "honored" in mock fashion, just as his "authority" is false. But in WICKER MAN the subject is truly played the Fool and doesn't see his Fate aproaching, while in EYE OF THE DEVIL the sacrifice willfully martyrs himself.
We can debate this final point though. It is likely that Philippe de Montfaucon has been drugged, brainwashed -- and even groomed at an early age for this task. This last point hints that the background of this strange society is twisted. The locals of antiquity had established a nobility which is elevated to live in riches but called upon to suffer martyrdom.
Both films have suffered in the public eye. WICKER MAN was poorly distributed but at least it's developed a cult following which has grown to appreciate it.
I don't understand why EYE OF THE DEVIL gets such a bum rap. The leads might be the weak links -- neither Niven nor Kerr seem compelling. But the supporting cast is great, including Donald Pleasance, David Hemmings, Sharon Tate, and Flora Robson.
Also EotD seems to be variously admired or derided depending on how you feel about the frenetic camera/editing -work. I usually prefer a more fluid style that doesn't call attention to itself, but it really does work here for me. Flash-and-dash editing can be a mind-numbing blur, like in the artless MOULIN ROUGE, but here the pacing moves the story along in a sane fashion but also creates some subtle comments. (Near the end Kerr chases after the doomed Niven, but the cuts back and forth include other characters and other locations. This creates an almost subconscious connection between the young siblings and the older generation; the young boy and girl become a parallel to their grandfather and great-aunt. This hints that the ritual will continue forever.)
Director J. Lee Thompson had a formidable assignment that had run through three other directors. Besides difficulties of running through various writers and directors, there were other bizarre events that took place behind the camera. It seemed jinxed with weird accidents, including a crewmember who was crushed by a car, and Kim Novak who suffered a riding accident and had to drop out of the film after completing 80% of her scenes. All of that footage had to be reshot with her replacement, Deborah Kerr. Then there's the final irony of the witchy cult-member, Sharon Tate, who of course suffered a terrible fate from a very real cult.
While I'm leery of the WICKER MAN remake, I wouldn't mind a new take on EYE OF THE DEVIL -- many details could be expanded upon or tweaked. For one, they could better highlight the relationship between the villagers and the nobility (as I described above).
Also, Sharon Tate was to entrance and groom the children for the roles they would assume as adults. It would be interesting if the boy had been a little older, which would have broadened Tate's character into more of a temptress, a la Britt Ekland in WICKER MAN.
(Btw, our last view of Tate is of her standing in the rain. So aren't we to assume that the sacrifice was ultimately successful? Like magic, the drought has ended.)
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