The Wicker Man's Signature Bonfire Ran Into Trouble With A Goat's Bladder
The 1973 folk horror movie "The Wicker Man" is a terrifying trip into the potential dangers of religious fanaticism, but it was also pretty perilous to film as well. Some of the actors felt like making the movie was almost as horrifying as the movie itself due to miserable, wet Scotland weather and the film's dramatic climax that ends in human sacrifice. Actor Edward Woodward wasn't actually burned alive, of course, though his character, Sergeant Howie is trapped inside a massive wicker man effigy and lit aflame, and it was still pretty scary filming that scene because fire can be unpredictable. Perhaps even more unpredictable, however? Goats. There may be no creature on this earth more unpredictable, and in proper goat fashion, one of them was a real problem on the set of the most pivotal scene in "The Wicker Man."
It's pretty close to impossible to make a folk horror movie without at least one goat milling about somewhere, and there are loads of goats on the fictional Summerisle, which was filmed around the southwestern coast of Scotland. It only makes sense that a religious commune would have the animals for meat and milk, but one of them created one serious issue when it came to the final bonfire, courtesy of its little goat bladder.
Fire, smoke, and goat urine
In a retrospective for The Guardian, director Robin Hardy explained that they actually built and burned a giant wicker man, which was large enough to hold at least Woodward, Hardy, a cameraperson, and a goat:
"The final scene, the sacrifice, took place in Dumfriesshire. The wicker man was enormous. The stunned look on Howie's face when he first sees it wasn't acting – up until then, Edward had only seen drawings. He clambered in and we set it on fire, filming from the inside. There was a goat inside there, above us. Understandably concerned about the fire, it pissed on us."
He goes on to explain that while the fire department helped them extinguish the massive effigy several times, they always felt in control of the fire and no one was ever in any real danger. Unfortunately, that's pretty hard to explain to a terrified goat, so they probably simply had to endure being peed on. Four-legged co-stars can do far worse than a little bladder release, after all, like when Colin Farrell got kicked by Jenny the donkey on the set of "The Banshees of Inisherin." Given the choice between a donkey kick and a little shower in goat pee, I think I'll take the one that can be washed off.
Folk horror and four-legged troublemakers
At the end of "The Wicker Man," Howie ends up burned alive and sacrificed by Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) as a part of the cult's pagan rituals, a scene that's been paid homage to in films like Ari Aster's "Midsommar." But the scene loses a tiny bit of its horror when you know there is a goat inside of the wicker man peeing all over everything. Sure, livestock are a vital part of folk horror, from the lamb of "Lamb" to Black Phillip from "The Witch," but maybe it wasn't the brightest idea to have one inside of a giant flaming effigy?
If they ever remake "The Wicker Man" (again), hopefully they'll use CGI animals for the sacrifice scene so no one even has to worry about scaring them or getting peed on. Just as long as they don't add any bees. We've had enough "Wicker Man" bees for a lifetime.