WARNING: This Review May Contain Spoilers
I think the storyline to the films I am going to discuss is the epitome of elevated horror, before that term was ever even coined. Truthfully, for those who thought Midsommar was an original story, they clearly had never seen the original The Wicker Man.
British vs American
Possibly the biggest elephant in the room in the difference between the British version and the American is subtlety. In the original film we have no massive explosion and no over the top displays of violence. However, in the remake we have a lorry crash into a car and, the car, subsequently explode only 5 minutes into the film. I get this is their way of maybe trying to set up the character of Malus but it just feels completely unnecessary and non-sequitur at first.
Also, I feel, with the remake, we have to go through everything step by step – like actually seeing Malus receive the letter explaining Rowan’s disappearance. On top of that, is there any need for there to be an actual connection between Malus and the case rather it just being a cop doing his job? Additionally at no point, in the original, is the titular Wicker Man ever actually mentioned but they felt the needed to reference him in the remake.
Extended Introduction
I don’t know if this is a production company thing or a change in times but in the remake, we spend much longer seeing Officer Malus, than we do Sergeant Howie in the original. Fair enough, yes there is the scene in the church at the very beginning but this isn’t clear until later on who we are watching or that he is a policeman at that point. However, in the remake we are following this traffic cop around on his beat. I’m not even sure how they feel this works as, in my opinion, he wouldn’t have the authority to investigate such a scenario. In the original, the short introduction means that we can jump straight in to the importance of the story.
A Switch in Genders
The interesting thing about the original film, and because it’s not actually drawn attention to I’m not sure if it is on purpose, is that Summer Isle is mainly inhabited by men. Now, on the other hand – which is pointed out when Malus says “It must be Ladies’ Night” – is that Summer Isle is mainly a matriarchal society in the remake. Truthfully I’m not sure in either film it has much relevance to the plot but I just felt in needed to be pointed out.
Isolation
Now, if I’ve said this once I’ve probably said it a hundred times and that is that isolation is one of the key factors of horror. Now, I’ll give the remake this that it actually keeps this in the film – as I was worried in the beginning it was just going to be set in some small town instead of an island cut off from civilisation. On top of that, there is the personal isolation in the original film what with Sergeant Howie being a stranger to everyone on the island. Unfortunately this is lost in the remake because of the connection between Malus and Sister Willow, along with the fact that he turns out to be Rowan’s father. Actually, they’re all quite friendly with him, one even asks to leave with him.
Unnecessary Closing Scene
So, the closing scene of the remake really annoyed me. They ended it as if they were going to make a sequel with two of the girls from the island going to the ‘big city’ to lure two more men, causing the cycle to start all over again. I really did not feel there was any need for this…
In Conclusion
In case it wasn’t already obvious by what’s written above – I clearly think the original was a better film. I didn’t understand the added connections between the case and Malus in the remake, unless they felt no American cop would investigate out of the goodness of his heart or by just doing his job. Of course I know there are people out there that enjoyed the remake when it came out and those that didn’t realise it was a remake but it just isn’t for me…
