Delving into what is probably the most famous influence on the folk horror genre, the kind recently revitalized by Ari Aster's similarly infamous and divisive Midsommar, it's hard to overlook how much of a hommage that more recent film seems to pay to The Wicker Man. While comparatively tame in terms of violence and shock value, The Wicker Man succeeds all the more by way of atmosphere, immersing the viewer in a psychedelic haze that feels both otherworldly and threatening while highlighting the arbitrariness of moral values, exemplified by a main character who experiences the ways of the island people not so much as a threat to his own life rather than an assault on his worldview, morals and - most of all - his religious beliefs, a temptation that leads him into what he percieves as a kind of spiritual warfare and, inevitably, onto the path of questionable martyrdom. Yeah, not quite unlike some religious kooks all over the world feel their way of life threatened right now by anybody not conforming to their own moral views. In that regard, The Wicker Man still feels as relevant as it ever was.