When Nicolas Cage runs around in a bear outfit in the climactic scene to his new film, BThe Wicker Man,C well that just transcends camp.

This is one example why director Neil LaBute?s new horror movie starring Cage is filmmaking at its kookiest.

The picture opens, interestingly enough, in pure Hitchcockian fashion with Cage playing California Highway Patrol officer Edward Malus, who witnesses a mother and her child get killed on a lonely country highway when a truck swerves to miss him and collides with their pulled-over car.

Soon after the accident, a morose Malus receives a letter from his former flame and runaway bride 8 a woman named Willow (Kate Beahan). He learns that Willow has returned home to a small, mysterious island off the coast of Washington. She says she needs Malus? help in finding her daughter who has disappeared.

So off he goes to fantasy island, where he finds a pagan society dominated by women and where the men are subservient. Malus also discovers the society holds an annual ritual sacrifice requiring a human immolation, which just might involve his ex?s little girl.

All lead up to a ridiculous scene in which Cage ends up in a bear outfit.

I did like much of the cinematography, which lends an otherworldly feel to the proceedings. Cage does bear somewhat of a resemblance to Jimmy Stewart and LaBute references the image of the blonde girl in a red sweater throughout the picture in flashbacks and dream sequences 8 an homage to Hitchcock?s masterpiece BVertigo,C which starred an obsessed Stewart in one of his darkest roles.

The film offers an impressive roster of talent with Cage, HBO show faves Frances Conroy (BSix Feet UnderC) and Molly Parker (BDeadwoodC), Leelee Sobieski (BEyes Wide ShutC), and the brilliant Ellen Burstyn (BAlice Doesn?t Live Here AnymoreC) rounding out the cast. All do what they can despite limited characterization, shlocky dialogue and clunky plotting.

BThe Wicker ManC is a remake of a 1970s British cult classic starring Christopher Lee, that while beautifully shot, is an unintentionally hilarious romp through the woods that plays like Shyamalan?s BThe Village,C if it was written by Woody Allen.

I liked Cage here, as he always turns in a convincing performance. But the problem for me was the utter implausibility of the plot and the characters. Performances are a little over the top here and not in a good way. The campy dialogue removed any sense of foreboding.

When Cage has to say the lines, BKilling me won?t bring back your (expletive) honey,C or BYou?re all little liars,C the tension of the film dissolves into laughable absurdity.

The failure of BThe Wicker ManC as an effective horror movie surprised me because LaBute, an accomplished playwright and the writer and director of the excellent films BIn the Company of Men,C BYour Friends & Neighbors,C and my favorite, BThe Shape of Things,C is a talented filmmaker who makes pictures filled with brutal, insightful dialogue. His films often delve into the dark nature of human relationships.

While his earlier films are thoughtful, challenging and emotionally harrowing character studies, BThe Wicker ManC is largely a comical misstep for LaBute.

Two stars out of four