THE WICKER MAN (15) - DULWICH PARK - LONDON

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Dulwich Park in midsummer – the perfect spot for a bit of neopaganism, sexual magic and jolly pyrotechnics. We continue our season of summer screenings at Dulwich with the 1973 folk-horror classic The Wicker Man…

Poor old Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) is literally led a merry dance by the inhabitants of spooky Summerisle, as he attempts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a young girl – a happening the islanders claim to know nothing about, but they do really, don’t they? Along the way, the devout Christian policeman is increasingly horrified at the pagan antics he witnesses – fertility rites, couples copulating in graveyards, toad medicine and the saucy innkeeper’s daughter (Britt Ekland), who rubs him up the wrong/right way with her lascivious pouting and dancing. With a stonking, otherworldy folky soundtrack and more phallic props and references than you can shake a maypole at, it’s like classic Hammer horror meets Rocky Horror, with a sprinkling of League of Gentlemen. And the famous climax – well, that’s famous innit…

We’ve got hay bails, some lighter fluid and we’ve invited Anne Widdicombe. You bring the matches.

The second of four pop-up screenings under the stars in Dulwich Park this summer. Casablanca plays on 28 May, The Goonies on 14 August and Amelie on 1 September. Bring a picnic, a blanket and something warm to wear for later on. Oh, and if you have any spare hare’s teeth or dessicated foreskins, those might come in handy too…

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