In 1973 a man named Robin Hardy directed a horror film called The Wicker Man. That film is now (rightly) considered one of the most effective chillers ever made. Aside from a 1986 effort called The Fantasist, Mr. Hardy never directed another movie. That is about to change.

According to Bloody-Disgusting.com, the 79-year-old Mr. Hardy is just about to begin production on this third directorial effort. Titled Cowboys for Christ, it's supposed to be a "re-imagining" of the classic Wicker Man (as Monika told us right here), but based on the plot synopsis, it sure doesn't sound like any typical sort of remake: A young Christian and her boyfriend head to Scotland to preach the gospel, only to end up hosted by a "different" sort of congregation. (OK, I guess it does sound a bit like The Wicker Man.)

Production gets underway (yes, in Scotland) next month. Cast members include Christopher Lee (of course), Joan Collins (yep, Joan Collins) and Graham McTavish. Check out BD.com for the official poster, a larger cast list, and bit more info on the flick itself. (Hey, I'm pretty impressed that I was able to make it through this whole post without making a snarky comment about Neil LaBute's ill-fated Wicker Man remake!) (Oops, I just made one.)

This was to be a casting bite, but the premise on Variety just killed me, so I wanted to write a little more about it. Believe it or not, Joan Collins is still acting, and she's signed on for a role in an upcoming film called Cowboys for Christ. Why do I love this bit? Well, get a load of this -- it's "the story of a gospel singer and her cowboy friend who set off from Texas to enlighten Scottish heathens about the ways of Christ." I know that's what I always think of when I think of Scotland -- heathen territory! Collins will play "a Scottish-landed gent's wife."

This is where things get even more interesting, and a little less strange. It's a reimagining of Robin Hardy's 1973 film, The Wicker Man -- by Robin Hardy. And yes, this is the same film that spawned the 2006 remake by Neil LaBute. Things make a bit more sense with this bit of info, since the original focused on a Scottish island where pagans might be sacrificing a missing girl. I guess after 35 years, he wonders what would happen if Christian cowboys came to visit?!

According to the IMDb summary, this new flick follows "young Christians Beth and Steve, a gospel singer and her boyfriend, [who] leave Texas to preach door-to-door in Scotland. When, after initial abuse, they are welcomed with joy and elation to Tressock, the border fiefdom of Sir Lachlan Morrison, they assume their hosts simply want to hear more about Jesus. How innocent and wrong they are." This is "Cowboys for Christ" -- talk about a misleading title!

An added treat for this flick that shoots this April in Scotland, Christopher Lee (from the original cast) will play Sir Lachlan.

What sounded like one of the year's most ill-fitting and head-scratching projects -- Neil LaBute and Nicolas Cage (of all combos) getting together to remake Robin Hardy's 1973 chiller The Wicker Man (a true cult classic if ever there was one) -- ends up being a half-compelling, half-goofy and half-redundant piece of remake revisionism. (Yes, that's three halves, but it's that weird a movie.) That's not to say you won't find a few really strong components in LaBute's (ultimately pointless) revisit ... but it'll take a straight face and a eagle's eye to find the good stuff. And even then, the only people who should bother with the remake are the ones who simply can't be hassled renting the original because it's old and British.

Cage stars as state cop Ed Malus, a hard-working and noble sort of everyman hero, whose story begins with a mysterious, deadly roadside explosion and the malaise that comes only when a cop loses two civilians ... and the bodies are never found. After stewing around in his misery juices for a few days, Ed receives a letter from an old lover: She needs him to make the trek out to a private and very isolated island off the coast of Washington because her daughter's gone missing and there's nobody on the island who can help.

After bribing a local pilot and mildly butting a few heads upon his arrival, Edward settles in with the meat of the mystery. But the off-kilter community of Summersisle, which is composed almost exclusively of unfriendly females, indentured males and billions of bees, does not take too kindly to Eddie's arrival. (It probably doesn't help that he has the word "male" as part of his last name.) Indeed, most of The Wicker Man consists of Cage flaccidly interrogating a series of very sneaky women before the mystery is laid bare with a finale that (thankfully) hasn't been monkeyed with too much.

Neil LaBute's already-controversial remake of the cult mega-classic The Wicker Man has been assigned a September 1st release date by Warner Bros., according to my blood-soaked brothers over at BD.com. The studio has also taken Dark Castle's The Reaping and switched it from August 11th to November 8th.

The Wicker Man is based on Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer's quietly brilliant original chiller, and it's a revisit that Mr. Hardy is none to thrilled about. (As Karina reported back in September, he had some decidedly unhappy things to say about LaBute's remake.) The new take features Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Leelee Sobieski, and Molly Parker. (The original coasted by on just mood, atmosphere, and a commanding lead performance by Edward "the eventual Equalizer" Woodward.) If you really crave a plot synopsis on The Wicker Man, do us both a favor and go buy/rent the original flick. It really is as good as the fans say.

Now, The Reaping is the latest from the Dark Castle gang, the folks who offered you House on Haunted Hill, 13 Ghosts, Ghost Ship, Gothika, and House of Wax. It stars two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank as a supernatural debunker who visits a small Louisiana town, only to discover that some truly freaky shiznit is going down. We're talking biblical plagues here, horror fans. Although Dark Castle's been a bit inconsistent with their output, The Reaping seems to be getting off on the right foot: The director is Stephen Hopkins, the man who helmed Nightmare on Elm St. Part 5, Predator 2, Judgment Night, The Ghost and the Darkness, and several episodes of Tales from the Crypt and 24. (True, he also directed the big-screen version of Lost in Space, but I'm trying to think positive thoughts here.)