10 Best Horror Movie Misdirections Ever
6. Howie Is The Sacrifice (Not Rowan) - The Wicker Man
The Wicker Man follows Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) as he travels to the remote Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the apparent disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison (Gerry Cowper).
Near the end of the movie, Howie surmises that Rowan is alive and pagan cult leader Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) plans to kill her in a human sacrifice due to their recent crop failure.
However, when Howie finds Rowan and "sets her free," it's revealed that Rowan was never the intended sacrifice - Howie himself is.
Basically, Summerisle and his fellow islanders lured Howie to Summerisle under the guise of investigating Rowan's disappearance when, in fact, he was the actual perfect candidate for their sacrifice.
The sacrifice required someone who came to the island of their own volition, had the "power of a king" (as a police officer), was a virgin and, most cruelly, a fool.
And with that, Howie is forced into a giant wicker man effigy before it's set ablaze, killing him in the ritual sacrifice he believed he'd prevented from happening.
The twist may seem more obvious to modern audiences, but upon the film's original 1973 release, this misdirect left viewers positively shook.