FrightFest 2026 Review: WRATH OF THE GODS is a Nostalgic Ode to THE WICKER MAN

Wrath of the Gods potentially sees the world of The Wicker Man come to a close, with the third film in the series being released some 53 years after The Wicker Man was unleashed on audiences. The Wicker Tree followed in 2011, and now we have Wrath of the Gods, which was inspired by a script left dormant for a number of years.

The initial script was recovered from the abandoned archives of original The Wicker Man director Robin Hardy, which were found in the attic of the old family home. Robin’s son Justin adapted the script along with his half-brother, Dominic, in order to bring their father’s initial vision to life. Wrath of the Gods is the only film in the trilogy not directed by Robin; instead, directing responsibilities were taken on by his son, Justin, who previously directed the 2022 documentary Children of the Wicker Man. Tragically, Justin died just weeks before Wrath of the Gods premiered at FrightFest.

The story starts with Anna (Christiane Schaldemose), who travels to Hel Island, which is seemingly off the coast of Scotland, to bury her husband after his suicide. She and her daughter, Gudrun, do not appear to want to stay on the secluded, desolate terrain—and neither do the locals, who treat Anna with disdain, as if she brings (or is herself) a curse. The local priest seems to be a harbinger of doom, and old acquaintances are told to stay away from her. She even receives a cold, stilted reception from her father-in-law, Tulloch (Francis Magee). 

Matters become worse when a local girl is abducted late at night. Fingers point to the outsider on the island—Anna—who becomes increasingly isolated. From there, old wounds open and accusations start to surface. She finds solace in Joy (Dawn Douglas), who offers comfort and support, but after repeated attempts to find the missing child yield no leads, Anna suspects that someone—or something—could be responsible for the kidnappings. A note left by her husband telling her to "find the ill (evil) man" could prove vital. In order to find who kidnapped the girl, a deeper search – both at sea and internally – is needed.

Wrath of the Gods treads very close to the path walked by The Wicker Man: a stranger on a remote island, a missing child, an odd community, and a story balanced on the knife edge between the real and the surreal. One difference, however, is that Wrath of the Gods leans more toward social issues and monsters grounded in reality rather than folklore.

There was an attempt by Robin Hardy to make Wrath of the Gods a few years after The Wicker Tree was released – funds were even sourced via crowdfunding - but unfortunately the financial target couldn’t be reached. Interestingly, Robin’s original vision centred around the gods becoming angry and vengeful after an international entertainment company attempts to build a theme park based on the gods' mythology inside an Icelandic volcano. Justin’s Wrath of the Gods is very different and far more grounded than his father’s concept. 

Robin's original concept of an Icelandic theme park would have been an intriguing avenue to explore—faithful to the world of The Wicker Man while offering something fresh to viewers. However, a story on such a grand scale would surely require extensive funding. Justin Hardy was economic with his vision, filming entirely in Shetland—an archipelago between Scotland, Norway, and the Faroe Islands—using a cast from the surrounding area and incorporating the natural dialect of the region.

Hardy does a great job of injecting social realism into a story steeped in mythology, but much of it is padded out with questionable tangents. The attempt to build uneasiness and tension tends to collapse, and any momentum stalls due to the padding. This could have been a tighter, leaner and more thrilling hour offering. Wrath of the Gods has some good ideas, but it appears caught between two minds: trying to be fresh and original while wanting to stick to what worked so well in the beginning. Wrath of the Gods is dedicated to Caroline Hardy—Justin’s mother—who served as an unofficial Executive Producer on The Wicker Man, and who was an essential part of the classic folk horror film being made (as detailed in Children of the Wicker Man) With the Hardy family involved in making these movies over the course of 50+ years, Wrath of the Gods serves as a nostalgic tribute to a family defined by The Wicker Man.

Movie Score: 3 out of 5