EXCLUSIVE: Justin Hardy’s folk horror feature Wrath Of The Gods is being launched in the Cannes market by Laurence Gornall’s London-based Unannounced Film Company, bringing the ‘Wicker Man trilogy’ to a conclusion.
The series was conceived by Hardy’s father, the late Robin Hardy, and includes the 1971 cult horror picture The Wicker Man, and the 2011 sequel The Wicker Tree, also directed by Hardy senior.
Wrath Of The Gods, now in post, is inspired by an idea uncovered in the elder Hardy’s storyboards, legal documents, letters and lost creative materials.
Justin and his half-brother Dominic Hardy have created a story based on their father’s concept and it has been produced by Chris Nunn and Alison Palmer for Hardy Pictures.
Wrath Of The Gods is about a grieving widow who returns to Hel Island to bury her late husband after his death by suicide, but the locals turn on her for being a symbol of bad luck and evil. When children start disappearing, the island is forced to reckon with its dark history of familial abuse and the sinister forces of the sea.
The new feature has been privately financed and was shot entirely on location on Shetland. The cast is led by Francis Magee and Christiane Schaldemose.
Additionally, Gornall’s Unannounced is also releasing Children Of The Wicker Man, Justin Hardy’s documentary about his father and his work, in UK cinemas in October.
Wrath Of The Gods is dedicated to Justin’s mother, Caroline Hardy, the uncredited backer and executive producer of The Wicker Man.
Justin Hardy has also revealed is now contemplating a Wicker Man “origin” story, which will look at the ancestors of Lord Summerisle, the pagan villain played by Christopher Lee in the original movie.
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