10 Most Shocking Horror Movie Endings
5. The Wicker Man: Sergeant Howie's Fiery End
Considering the schlock-horror output Hammer was often guilty of back in the day, it's hardly surprising The Wicker Man was hailed as the oddball masterpiece in its catalogue. The late, great Christopher Lee swears it was the greatest film he ever appeared in.
The movie's final act starts with a twist nobody saw coming back in 1973 - the whole missing child thing was merely a cover story, a ruse to lure Edward Woodward's virginal police officer to Summerisle so he can be sacrificed to Pagan gods.
What follows plays out like a nightmare wrapped up in a dream, the kind of powerful dichotomy you simply won't see elsewhere in horror cinema. As Woodward's character Sergeant Howie is about to be burned alive inside a woven giant, the atmosphere is hauntingly cheery.
The locals are reciting Old English folk songs while linking arms, but this is offset against Sergeant Howie's desperate prayers, and later agonising screams as his wicker tomb is set alight.
It's a scene of sheer horror, yet somehow, there's beauty in there too. The moment the Wicker Man's flaming head falls off while the sunlight shines down is a spectacle to behold.