So... it's The Wicker Man, but in an American idiom rather than a British one, and it came out two years before Robin Hardy's masterpiece.
And it's GOOD. It's really well done for a TV movie, and most of its failings are budgetary in nature- given proper sets and the budget to successfully pull off the few effects it tries for, it's easy to imagine a startling and memorable film. There's a bit of a mismatch in the casting, in that Hank Worden (generally a solid character actor, and Western stalwart) seems to be acting in a different movie than the rest of the cast, his mannerisms cartoonish in comparison to his fellows. And of course it was created as a TV movie, so the writing lacks some polish.
But still: an unexpected gem!
And it's GOOD. It's really well done for a TV movie, and most of its failings are budgetary in nature- given proper sets and the budget to successfully pull off the few effects it tries for, it's easy to imagine a startling and memorable film. There's a bit of a mismatch in the casting, in that Hank Worden (generally a solid character actor, and Western stalwart) seems to be acting in a different movie than the rest of the cast, his mannerisms cartoonish in comparison to his fellows. And of course it was created as a TV movie, so the writing lacks some polish.
But still: an unexpected gem!