The putative pagan customs showed in the movie weren't made up by the filmmakers. Sources included classical accounts (several of which mention the wicker man as a maethod of sacrifice) and the seventeenth to nineteenth century neo-pagan romantics. There is little evidence that real pagan Celts did any of this, though there is good evidence for human and animal sacrifice from the Celtic world.

It is a fun movie, and Woowward and Lee are so good at their roles. I found the music and songs as disturbing as the rest...