Sleepy Hollow

 

 

Sleepy Hollow

1999

Director- Tim Burton

Cast- Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Marc Pickering, Christopher Walken, Christopher Lee, Ray Park, Steven Waddington

            

   Most of Tim Burton’s films have a horror flavor, but most also have enough humor, satire, or just plain weirdness, that the horror isn’t really center stage. Not so with Sleepy Hollow. This is a straight up horror movie and, I think, one of Burton’s best.

           

     It’s an adaptation of the Washington Irving story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This time though, Ichabod Crane, rather than a school teacher, is constable dispatched to investigate the grisly murders (all decapitations) in the rural town of Sleepy Hollow. Crane is a primitive sort of forensic detective and he relies on science and reason as the best way to solve crimes. The citizens of Sleepy Hollow, however, tell him a tale that his science cannot explain. During the Revolutionary War, there was a Hessian mercenary fighting for the British who had a particularly strong blood lust. He loved to ride into battle on his black steed, cutting off heads as he went. He was eventually cornered in the woods and killed, the death blow coming when his own sword was used to decapitate him. Now, he has risen from the grave to claim more heads. But why now? And to what purpose? This is the mystery that Constable Crane must solve.

      

     

   In addition to Burton’s direction, Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography creates a dark, cold, creepy landscape. Danny Elfman’s musical score is quite un-Elfman like, creating an ominous feel very different from his other collaborations with Burton.

            

     The cast, one of the finest ever assembled, is really stellar, filled with both Burton favorites and others from outside the “Burton family.” Johnny Depp, Burton’s most frequent collaborator, does the honors as Ichabod. Christina Ricci, in her only Burton collaboration, is beautiful and mysterious as the love interest, and may or may not be a witch. Younger fans will recognize Michael Gough from his numerous Tim Burton films, but older fans will know him from his numerous Hammer and Amicus horror films. Other familiar faces include Jeffery Jones (Beetlejuice, Deadwood), Ian McDiarmid (the Emperor from Star Wars), Alun Armstrong (Van Helsing), Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers), Martin Landau (Ed Wood, Space: 1999) and horror icon Christopher Lee. Harry Potter fans will receive a treat as Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, and Richard Griffiths all appeared in that franchise (alongside Burton’s one time wife Helen Bonham Carter). The Headless Horseman is played by two actors, veteran actor Christopher Walken and Darth Maul himself, Ray Park, handles the action sequences.

             

    The film is 20 years old but it has aged remarkably well. I think this is due to a reliance on creepy ambiance and interesting characters rather than CGI (which never ages well). It’s a perfect film to break out during the fall and winter as the days get colder and the nights grow longer. It has a timeless, folk horror feel and is worth being a part of any horror film collection.