10 More Bleakest Endings In Horror Movies

Described by some critics as the "Citizen Kane of horror movies", Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man is the finest folk-horror offering of all time.

This 1973 outing follows Edward Woodward's Neil Howie, a policeman who journeys to a remote Scottish island in search of a missing young girl. The sergeant soon discovers that the inhabitants have embraced paganism, led by Christopher Lee's sinister Lord Summerisle.

Despite The Wicker Man's enviable accolades, this decidedly isn't the film for anybody looking for a happy ending. The picture's conclusion exposes Howie's mission as a farcical ruse - the policeman was actually lured to the island as a human sacrifice in the hopes of securing another bountiful harvest.

Despite Neil's desperate pleas for his captors to see reason, he finds himself stuffed into the film's titular subject; an enormous wicker contraption in the shape of a man. The islanders merrily sing and dance as they set the structure ablaze, with the strains of "Summer Is Icumen In" punctuated only by Howie's anguished prayers and curses.

There is to be no rescue for the unfortunate sergeant. With his words drowned out by his tormentors' chanting, Howie burns to death in torturous fashion as the eponymous effigy collapses in flames.