Sleepy Hollow (1999)

[Anthony G Williams]

I don't normally watch horror films, but this one seems to have been well regarded so I thought I'd give it a try. The year is 1799 and scientifically-minded law officer Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is sent from New York to investigate a series of killings in which the victims are decapitated. He is told of the local legend of a headless horseman, a mercenary killed in the Revolutionary War, who is blamed for the murders. As the disbelieving Crane systematically investigates possible motives for the killings he is disconcerted to meet the headless horseman in person, and his search then becomes a race against time to find a way of stopping the murders as the bodies mount up.

The film was directed by Tim Burton and is a visual pleasure, rich in atmosphere, with the impressive cast effectively conveying the superstition of the times. However, it is decidedly "over the top" in cranking up the drama to levels which sometimes become rather laughable. I prefer more subtlety and ambivalence in dealing with this kind of theme; more uncertainty as to what is real, what is a product of the characters' imaginations and what might just be supernatural. The 2011 film The Awakening, which I reviewed here last August, is an excellent example of what I mean and is far more to my taste, with a much more adult and thoughtful script. In contrast, Sleepy Hollow is about as subtle as a sledgehammer. I can imagine horror fans liking it, but it left me unengaged.

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I'm now into the second season of three SFF TV series I'm working through on DVD: Game of Thrones, Fringe, and Warehouse 13. What's more, the second season of Once Upon a Time has just started on UK TV. All very different from each other, but all delivering addictive entertainment. Next I aim to try Continuum, a Canadian series about a detective from the future hunting criminals who have escaped back in time – to the present day. Sounds promising.

(An extract from my SFF blog: http://sciencefictionfantasy.blogspot.co.uk/)

 

[J-Sun]

I don't count myself a horror fan, as such, and I can imagine horror fans not liking it, actually. I agree that this film is great to look at (as Burton films almost always are) and Depp's entertaining (as Depp performances almost always are) but it's not all that horrific. There's at least one brilliantly done decapitation scene and there's one scene with a family in peril and many other things that would certainly have people screaming and passing in the aisles in the past but I don't know how terrifying it would be to modern horror movie fans. Sweeney Todd (another Burton/Depp horror film) is much more of a bloodbath but is also far too interested in its characters to not have the dramatic aspects come to the fore. But, since I'm not really a horror fan, this works out for me at least. And perhaps I overestimate the jaded nature of modern horror movie fans. Anyway, I'd also compare it adversely to Sweeney Todd in that I did find the emotional characterization better in Todd and I can see why you might be unengaged by Hollow. But, while it didn't fix on any one character to a great degree, I thought it did do a good job of painting the interlocking network of people of the town very well. Kind of a motley crew of a sordid nature but with an odd sort of sympathy in a weird way - I guess people running around trying to keep their heads is easy to empathize with. And, comparing it favorably to Sweeney Todd: no singing!

Anyway - not one of the best films of all time but definitely worth a look and, for me, more than one.

 

[paranoid marvin]

For my money the film was never intended as a scare-fest; it has far too much humour in it for that. Burton and Depp work well together, and this is an spooky fairy tale well told.

 

[biodroid]

I thought it was more of a dark fairy tale as paranoid marvin mentioned with the quirky acting style of Depp. I did not like the actor Casper Van Dien, the only movie he was good in was Starship Troopers.

 

[MontyCircus]

Sleepy Hollow is the last film from Tim Burton that I've liked. I really liked it actually. And that was a loooong time ago! Haven't seen Dark Shadows (which was panned) or Frankenweenie yet but I have seen the other 6 in-between. Burton used to seem so cool.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I really enjoyed it at the time but to be honest don't remember much else about it.

 

[thaddeus6th]

My overriding memory of this film is actually that someone at school said I looked like the Headless Horseman.

 

[Anthony G Williams]

My overriding memory of this film is actually that someone at school said I looked like the Headless Horseman.

Before or after decapitation?

 

[thaddeus6th]

Mwahahahahaha!