Is The Wicker Man (1973) on topic?

Question

The Wicker Man is a famous British folk musical/horror/erotic thriller film from 1973. (There was a 2006 American remake that I have never seen and which is not that well regarded.) I was wondering about the consensus on whether questions about the original film are on topic for Science Fiction and Fantasy.

The film does include one minor but clear cut science fiction element. The island where it takes place, Summerisle, is so named because it exhibits an almost Mediterranean climate despite being located off the coast of Scotland. This is explained by the presence of an anomalous warm-water current that flows from the tropics to the island, keeping Summerisle atypically warm.

There is no other explicit science fiction of fantasy in the story. However, the inhabitants of Summerisle certainly believe that magic exists, specifically that they can reverse the recent cooling trend that has devastated their agricultural economy by offering a human sacrifice to propitiate their gods. The movie does not appear to give any credence to this possibility, but the islanders' mystical belief is ultimately what drives the entire plot.

So, what do people think about whether the film is on topic?

Answer 1

I'd argue against it being SF&F. There is nothing in the film which isn't easily explained by fortune and superstition. I don't have enough additional words to really make an answer.

Even if you accept that the sacrifice does guarantee good weather and harvest, as Valorum states, incidental SF&F content doesn't make a mostly mundane series valid except maybe if you are specifically asking about those elements.