Having led Rowan to the clifftop and seemingly prevented the anticipated Human Sacrifice, Howie finds himself surrounded by islanders. With chilling calm, Lord Summerisle indicates Howie's increasingly undeniable fate.
Lord Summerisle:{smiling amiably} Welcome, Fool. You have come of your own free will, to the appointed place. The game's over... You came here to find Rowan Morrison, but it is we who found you, and controlled your every thought and action since you arrived!
Lord Summerisle states that children can be used as sacrifices, but they are not as effective as "the right kind of adult" (ie. Howie). Which makes you wonder if the islanders have previously sacrificed one of their children before deciding that they needed to sacrifice a suitable adult instead.
Howie tries to dissuade the islanders from their murderous ritual. With a ponderously ominous Drone of Dread, the inevitable descends and his panic mounts.
Howie: Don't you see I'll be missed?! THEY'LL COME LOOKING FOR ME!
Lord Summerisle: There will be no traces! Bring him up, Oak!
Howie: No... THINK! Just think what you're doing, think what you're doing, THINK!IN THE NAME OF GOD, THINK WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!
The islanders dancing about the Wicker Man, joyously singing "Summer is i'coming in" while Howie burns to death, howling in agony. Edward Woodward said that in all his acting career, he had never been more terrified than when he was in that Wicker Man with it on fire. He shared many of the viewers' fears about that scene.
Also, there's something about the islanders wearing those animal masks that just isn't right. It doesn't help that the masks are very realistic. Or the way they just appear, and stare at Howie...
The shot of the Wicker Man totally engulfed in flames in the film's final seconds. By that point, you know that Howie is long dead. If you look closely, you can see his burning corpse still leaning against the gate.
Howie dying all alone on the island, with no one on the mainland knowing what's happening to him.
Seamus Flannery'snote The film's production designer Wicker Man structure itself. It's big and menacing, especially in black-and-white photos.
A first-time viewer will probably work out the big twist that Howie, not Rowan, is the planned sacrifice. But you will not be ready for that first shot of the Wicker Man. Most likely, the viewer will be thinking, "Good God, are they really going to go there?" They are indeed.
In Britain, this film was released in cinemas as the "B" feature on a double bill with Don't Look Now. Seeing those two films back-to-back must guarantee a few sleepless nights afterwards.
