50 Movies Where Evil Won

Plot: Officer Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) travels to a remote Scottish island, one that has embraced Paganism, to investigate the disappearance of a young girl.

The Wicker Man - the real one, not that ghastly claptrap with Nic Cage - is one of the greatest British horror movies ever made and, like many of Ol' Blighty's horror flicks, it concludes on a thoroughly grim note. In this instance, it concludes with a human sacrifice, perhaps the most disturbing one ever rendered to film.

This one is especially tough due to the way the picture tricks viewers. The rest of the movie leads viewers to believe that the missing girl is to be sacrificed when, in fact, it was always designed to be Howie. The disappearance was a trick to lure him into their clutches, and the little girl was in on it all along. The islanders then imprison Howie in a giant wicker man statue and set it on fire - they merrily dance while he is burned alive.  

Alongside being an all-around horror classic, The Wicker Man is a powerful look at how ideologies can infect and brainwash an entire population, driving ordinary people to do unspeakably evil things. Just before his death, Howie warns the island's leader Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) that the islanders will turn on him and sacrifice him, too; an all-too-believable prospect, all things considered. 

The Wicker Man's 50 years old, yet this story of evil winning still feels remarkably relevant today.