Full Review

Remaking the 1973 cult British thriller "The Wicker Man" (Warner Bros.) would seem an odd choice for playwright-filmmaker Neil LaBute, whose bailiwick has generally been intellectual and edgy relationship dramas like "In the Company of Men" and "The Shape of Things."

Transposing the story from Scotland to the Pacific Northwest, the film centers on Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage), a California highway patrolman who, investigating the disappearance of his former fiancee's (Kate Beahan) young daughter, becomes entangled in the strange goings-on of a secretive island community of modern pagans led by earth-mother matriarch Sister Summersisle (Ellen Burstyn).

Following the basic outline of the original, minus the eroticism and adding a feminist twist, director LaBute generates some suspense in his cerebral approach, but overall the film is a bland and unnecessary retread, more hokey than creepy as the story progresses.

The film contains some disturbing images, including a burning human sacrifice, pagan rituals, an instance of rough language and scattered crude expressions and profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

• A-I -- general patronage;
• A-II -- adults and adolescents;
• A-III -- adults;
• A-IV**
• L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
• O -- morally offensive.