Few horror films have been picked over as thoroughly as The Wicker Man. Every chaotic day of its production, every lost reel and every twist of its long journey from flop to cult classic has been chronicled. Children of the Wicker Man finds a genuinely new angle: the view from the director’s own children.
Made by historians Justin and Dominic Hardy, two of Robin Hardy’s sons, it begins with sacks of papers found in an old family attic and becomes something much more personal: a reckoning with a charismatic, chaotic father, and with the question of whether great art is ever worth the damage done to make it.
Children of the Wicker Man asks the hardest question about any masterpiece: who paid for it?
Movie at a Glance
- UK cinemas: From 23 October 2026, in special screenings with an introduction and Q&A from producer Christopher Nunn
- US release: No US cinema release has been announced; Severin Films handles the film’s US home-media release
- Directors: Justin Hardy, Dominic Hardy and Christopher Nunn
- Featuring: Justin Hardy, Dominic Hardy and archive interviews with cast and crew, including Christopher Lee
- Runtime: About 92 minutes
- Genre: Documentary
Viewer Match
- Best for: Wicker Man devotees, folk horror fans and anyone interested in the human cost of creative obsession.
- Maybe skip if: You want a polished, conventional making-of with exhaustive production detail.
- Mood and pace: Raw, intimate and often painful, with flashes of dry humour.
- Cinema or streaming? The Q&A screenings make a cinema trip worthwhile for fans; otherwise it suits home viewing.
- Spoiler level: Spoiler-free: the 1973 film’s ending is not discussed in detail.
Six Sacks in the Attic
The papers are extraordinary: scripts, storyboards, on-set photographs and personal letters spanning decades. Justin and Dominic, who grew up separately and largely without their father, use their training as historians to work through them, while also revisiting locations from the film and from their own childhoods.
What emerges is not a flattering portrait. Robin Hardy is shown as a charming, impulsive man who repeatedly alienated those around him, leaned on others’ money and left a trail of broken relationships, including the families of the brothers themselves. The film’s chaotic production is just one entry in a long catalogue of disasters and recoveries.
Two Brothers, Two Kinds of Anger
The film’s emotional engine is the contrast between its makers. Justin is openly furious about his father’s behaviour, while Dominic, who saw him even less, approaches the story with a more detached curiosity. Watching them piece the past together side by side, the documentary becomes almost as much about their own developing relationship as about the father they share.
There is real humour too, including a perfectly chosen Monty Python reference that sums up their father’s gift for running away. And as their research continues, their view of him slowly becomes more nuanced, without excusing anything.
Rough Edges, Real Feeling
This is not a slick production. Its archive-heavy construction can feel uneven, and those hoping for deep new insight into the making of the 1973 film may leave wanting more. Former collaborators and Hardy’s widow offer perspective, and Christopher Lee appears in archive interview, but the focus always returns to the family.
The closing stretch, which takes the brothers to Malta and then to a bonfire celebration back in England, finds a surprisingly moving note of reconciliation, reclaiming ritual and fire from the grim finale of their father’s film. Justin Hardy died in July 2026, which lends the film an added poignancy for anyone watching now.
Is the Art Worth It?
Children of the Wicker Man joins an ongoing debate about how we should treat great work made by difficult people, and it brings something rare to that conversation: the testimony of those who lived with the consequences. It is brave, personal and, in the end, quietly devastating.
Spoiler-Free Verdict
Children of the Wicker Man is a raw, uneven but deeply affecting documentary that reframes a folk horror landmark through the family it left behind.
- Performances: 7.5/10
- Direction: 6.5/10
- Screenplay: 7/10
- Score: 6/10
- Cinematography: 6/10
- Entertainment Value: 7/10
- Overall score: 7/10
Star rating: 3.5/5
Verdict badge: One for Fans
One-line verdict: A brave, personal reckoning that every Wicker Man fan should see.
Watch the Official Trailer
Open the Hardy family archive in the official trailer.
Can you separate a great film from the behaviour of the person who made it? Share your spoiler-free view.