Rediscovering the Wicker Man
Robin Hardy’s cult horror film, The Wicker Man, is widely considered to be one of the most important British films of all time. With support from the University of Birmingham’s AHRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), Chris Nunn (Assistant Professor of Film), along with an international team of academics and several UK screen-focused cultural organisations, have rediscovered this cult classic.
Unearthing the archive
Since the release of The Wicker Man in 1973, audiences have been drawn to the sinister tale of Edward Woodward’s police officer, Sergeant Neil Howie, and his search for a missing girl on the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle. The film, though, is perhaps as notorious for the myths that surround its making and its persisting influence on future generations of British filmmakers. While the film world celebrated the 50th anniversary of The Wicker Man in 2023, Dr Chris Nunn and an international team of academics unearthed an archive that is revealing untold stories about this cult classic. Their new documentary film, The Children of The Wicker Man, tells the personal family story of the film’s making.
Chris and the team originally intended to re-evaluate The Wicker Man as it turned 50, drawing on research to investigate why the film represents such a milestone for radical filmmaking and breaking genres, and to analyse the production and aesthetics that would lay the groundwork for the next generation of British filmmakers. But a surprise discovery of documents from director and screenwriter Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer’s production company opened new avenues to explore. Amongst the archives, the research team discovered the crucial investment of (Robin's wife and Justin's mother) Caroline Hardy’s money and time, both of which enabled the film to be made.
The documentary team included Justin and Dominic Hardy, sons of the film’s director, and academics at University College London (UCL) and Université du Québec à Montréal, respectively. Hardy’s sons have a complex relationship with the film and the impact it had on their relationship with their father. The Children of the Wicker Man documentary has morphed into a meditation on independent filming making and what it means to be a father rather than simply an analytical look at the film.
Media interest and the documentary film circuit
The stories unearthed in the making of the documentary spawned media interest from across the globe – with articles appearing in The Independent, Newsweek, The Times of Malta and more.
StudioCanal, the rights holders of The Wicker Man, also commissioned the team to provide three special features for the 50th anniversary special Blu-ray release. These focused on the locations of The Wicker Man, the lost ending of the film (found in Hardy’s copy of the script in the archive) and the critical response to the film 50 years later. They have been well received and earned StudioCanal a nomination for “Best in Class: Bonus Features” at the British Association of Screen Entertainment (BASE).These were credited being produced by the University of Birmingham. 
The Children of The Wicker Man will be touring the independent film festival circuit, after a much-awaited UK premiere at FrightFest, the UK’s largest independent international thriller, fantasy, and horror film festival. It is part of several festival screenings that have helped build excitement around the documentary’s launch, including special preview screenings at Fantaspoa Film Festival in Brazil, and at the University of Malta, while the film was in the final stages of post-production.
The series of screenings have not only been a chance to share the film, but also an opportunity for the research team to gather audience feedback on the documentary and the original film through surveys and interviews, to broaden the understanding of the film’s rich history and legacy.
Documentary production as art
Film company Unannounced is set to release and distribute the film, and the project continues apace with an ambition to benefit those groups who have supported its development. The team is exploring opportunities for filmmaking residentials and studentships as well as a permanent filming location map identifying key locations where The Wicker Man was shot in the Dumfries and Galloway area.
Academics are often consulted on films of this kind, but this will be the most high-profile feature documentary produced by a hybrid university production entity. Part crowd-funded through Kickstarter, the documentary serves as a proof-of-concept for film departments in higher education institutions to make documentaries and high-quality feature films, who in the context of significant pressures on the creative industries, may be seen as “the new indies”. With one documentary beginning a festival run, and two more feature films in the pipeline, all stemming from activity supported by the AHRC IAA, the department of Film and Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham is a busy place to be.