We continue our 31 days of Frights with Sleepy Hollow from 1999. Constable Ichabod Crane is sent to the tiny village of Sleepy Hollow, where a headless horseman is leaving a trail of decapitated bodies.
The Story
I feel that most people know the story of the Headless Horseman: a haunting headless figure who rides a horse and sometimes throws jack o’ lanterns at people. Some people had to read the book written by Washington Irving in school, perhaps. There is also a chance that people first met the horseman from watching the old Disney animated film. But in 1999 Tim Burton released his own live-action version, and it is bloody as hell.
Burton brings his gothic style to this underrated film, and it is beautiful to look at. The costumes and production design give the audience an immersive experience. It reminded me a lot of a Giallo film, with the contrast of colors. The greys and blacks and blood red go very well together.
The movie isn’t scary per se, but it is suspenseful, and this is due to the film also being a mystery. Someone awoke the Headless Horseman using him for revenge, but who and why? This, along with the Danny Elfman score, adds to a story a lot of people have heard before.
Characters
Johnny Depp is good in this as Ichabod Crane. He wants to solve the mystery of what is going on, but he is also too afraid to really do anything. He’s a fun protagonist to watch. The movie has a great cast, including Christina Ricci, Christopher Walken, Christopher Lee, Michael Gambon, and many more.
Sleepy Hollow is not a movie from Burton that people always remember, but it screams Halloween. The number of heads that get decapitated in this one is almost humorous, but everybody does a great job at taking the material seriously. Check this one out if you haven’t before. It’s guaranteed to put you in the Halloween spirit.
Sleepy Hollow is available to watch on Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
Come back tomorrow for some more spooky reviews.
