Neil LaBute's 2006 retelling of cult classic The Wicker Man has achieved its own level of "so bad it's good" notoriety over the years, with many singling it out as not only the worst remake of all time, but the movie that brought us Nicolas Cage's worst performance.
The Wicker Man actually starts off well enough, but soon descends into outright silliness, with Cage running around in a bear suit while punching women in the face and screaming about bees while being forced into a honey-coated helmet (we're sure you've seen the memes).
Most assumed the humour was unintentional and that LaBute was going for genuine suspense, but Cage insists that wasn't the case while speaking to Indiewire about his latest film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
“[Director] Neil [LaBute] and I both knew how funny it was,” said the legendary actor. “It probably would’ve been more clear how funny it was if [producer] Avi Lerner let me have the handlebar moustache that I wanted to wear and be burned in the bear suit. That would’ve been so horrifying, but they didn’t go for that because all the comedy would’ve emerged from this horror.”
Praying to the horror gods that someone shot an alternate scene with Cage being burned in that suit!
In all honesty, I always felt Cage's scenery chewing was too OTT not to be intentional, but this was still an odd choice to make in the final act of a movie that had taken itself relatively seriously up to that point.
What do you guys think? Will you give The Wicker Man a re-watch to see if Cage's assurances hold up? Drop us a comment down below.