Robin Hardy, best known for directing horror cult classic The Wicker Man has died aged 86.
A family friend confirmed the news earlier today, at around 3pm. Hardy was best known for directing the cult horror classic starring Sir Christoper Lee and Edward Woodward, that centred around Woodward’s Howie searching for a missing girl on the fictional Summerisle, twisting in elements of classical Paganism and occultism.
In 2010, The Guardian ranked The Wicker Man as the fourth best horror film of all time. It was later notoriously remade to very negative reviews, this time starring Nicolas Cage as Howie.
Sir Christopher named the film as his favourite out of his plus 200 catalogue that he had starred in, and Hardy had expressed interest in completing his Wicker Man trilogy last year, after already releasing sequel The Wicker Tree in 2011. It received mixed reviews.
Among those to pay tribute to Hardy was Director Edgar Wright, who tweeted: “R.I.P Robin Hardy, director of hugely influential horror ‘The Wicker Man’. There would be no ‘Hot Fuzz’ without it.”
Our thoughts go out to all friends and family. Watch the trailer for the classic horror below:
