When Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg wrote and directedHot Fuzz,they had a lot of influences, including a classic horror movie that has a huge connection.Hot Fuzzfollows a supercop named Nicholas Angel(Simon Pegg), a London cop transferred to the rural country town, Sandford, Gloucestershire, because he was making other cops look worse in comparison. When he gets there, he realizes something is amiss and believes a serial killer is on the loose, although his fellow officers refuse to believe it.
There area lot of influences onHot Fuzz.This includes several buddy cop movies, sincethe film follows Angel and his new partner Danny Butterman(Nick Frost) as they investigate the mysterious deaths around the town.The movie name-drops films likeBad Boys IIandPoint Breakand evenhomages everything fromRomeo + JuliettoDirty Harry.However, the movie also shares a strong similarity with the classic British horror movieThe Wicker Man.
Hot Fuzz Is A Fresh Take On The Wicker Man
Both Movies Are About Cops Battling A Village Of Cultists
The Wicker Manremains listed among the best horror movies of all time. Directed by Robin Hardy,the film follows a police sergeant named Neil Howie (Edward Woodward)who is searching for a missing girl. A devout Christian, he soon finds himself in the middle of something he doesn’t understand, as he encounters the inhabitants of the island’s village who practice Celtic paganism.What happened inThe Wicker Manendingis beyond even his imagination.
This seems a little similar to the plot ofHot Fuzz,but taken in the direction of a buddy cop movie rather than the horror genre.InHot Fuzz,Nicholas Angel is a copwho enters a small village only to learn that the community there lives under the umbrella of the Neighborhood Watch Alliance, who practice their own form of the law, something that Angel fails to come to grips with. In both movies, these villagers are willing to kill to keep their rule of law.
Simon Pegg said that they watchedThe Wicker Manbefore writing theHot Fuzzscript (viaStop Smiling):
“We watched 138 action films and Wicker Man was the first film we put in the DVD player. Wicker Man is a fantastic film, with so much going on in it. One of the greats. It’s a bit of curio and a brilliant movie. It’s very lyrical and musical in a way.”
Not only that, but it might surpriseHot Fuzzfans to know that director Edgar Wright doesn’t really see Nicholas Angel or The Wicker Man’s Sgt. Howie as a “good guy.” That is something that he wanted to play out under the surface of his buddy cop film:
“What we loved about the original Wicker Man, and this is true to some extent in Hot Fuzz, is that the cult — they’re kind of in the right. Within their religion, they are entirely justified, as far as they’re concerned. They aren’t portrayed as particularly evil. Even though it’s the quintessential creepy village film, from their point of view, they’re right.”
InThe Wicker Man,Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) explains that they are only doing what is necessary to honor their pagan god, and offer it a sacrifice to help their crops grow.InHot Fuzz,the NWA is killing the peoplewho make their town ugly and keeping the peace for “the greater good.” In both cases, the cops refuse to buy into it and conflict arises.
Hot Fuzz & The Wicker Man Also Share A Perfect Star
Edward Woodward Went From Hero-To-Villain In Hot Fuzz
There was also some masterful casting inHot Fuzz.Edgar Wright had a plan when casting his movie. Every member of the Sanford police force was a young British actor, while every member of the NWA was a British acting legend, allowing the battle to be between two generations of British actors.One of these iconic legends was none other than Edward Woodward.The man who playedthe cop inThe Wicker Mannow plays the head of the NWA, Tom Weaver.
Simon Pegg pointed out the similarity between Sgt. Nicholas Angel andThe Wicker Man’sSgt. Neil Howie.
“There’s a wonderful central performance from Edward Woodward, who is the grandfather of Nicholas Angel. Angel is this fastidious, uptight, absolutely by-the-book, humorous, blowhard spoilsport, almost.”
Edgar Wright also pointed out how the two cops were similar, and how neither were completely in the right:
“What’s interesting about Woodward’s character is that he’s the villain in the film. That’s the thing the remake completely fu**ing missed the point of… Edward Woodward is wrong, and he dies for that. I love that about the original Wicker Man. But there are many things to love about Wicker Man. It’s a film that seems to have had many lives, and will hopefully continue to do so.”
Of course, Nicholas Angel wasn’t the villain inHot Fuzz.In this case, the NWA were clearly the villains since they were killing everyone from teenagers to people who just wanted to move away. However, Wright mentioned in the interview that the only genuine connection was that they were telling cop stories, and they involved cult-like villagers. With that said,Hot Fuzzshares much in common withThe Wicker Manthematically, and they are both true British masterpieces.
