Sleepy Hollow

In 1820, Washington Irving published a collection of short stories titled, “The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.” Simply call it, “The Sketch Book.” One of them features a significant short story called, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” It’s about a teacher named, Ichabod Crane who encounters a ghost known as the Headless Horseman. In 1949, Walt Disney adapted the short story into an animated short film along with “The Winds in the Willows.” Together, their two separate double headers under “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.” A misleading title for the movie goers believing it as a crossover movie. Four Decades Later, Tim Burton adapted the story into a full-length live-action film as “Sleepy Hollow” starring his bestie, Johnny Depp.

Released in 1999, (same year The Mummy came out) Sleepy Hollow earned positive reviews from critics and movie goers alike. It also made enough revenue at the box office. A TV show unrelated to the film aired on Fox from 2013-2017. Tim Burton’s working on a second season of “Wednesday” with Jenna Ortega reprising her role as the titular character. One more thing, it’s Halloween Month 2023. I’ll be reviewing several Horror films throughout October. Which ones should I review next? Please leave a comment and I’ll respond back.

This review contains no SPOILERS whatsoever.

Lifted & Cursed Aspects

Lifted: Johnny Depp & Christina Ricci both did an excellent job for their respective performances.

Other Cast Members such as Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, (may he Rest in Peace) Casper Van Dien, (Johnny Rico from Starship Troopers) Ian McDiarmid, Chirstopher Lee, Jeffrey Jones (a sicko) & Christopher “More Cowbell” Walken all did a decent job for their respective performances.

Ray Park (Darth Maul, Toad from X-Men) portrays the Headless Horseman.

Tim Burton did a great job directing.

Francis Ford Coppola was involved in production. Courtesy of his production company, American Zoetrope.

Tim’s other bestie, Danny Elfman orchestrated the soundtrack.

Death Scenes with various characters beheaded by the Headless Horseman is over-the-top or sometimes played for laughs. To quote Will Smith in that god awful “Wild Wild West.” “That is a man’s head.” Speaking of which, both Sleepy Hollow and the Razzie winning Western both open with a man’s head cut off.

Cinematography didn’t go through technical errors.

Set Pieces and Costumes Designs were manually crafted. Reflecting 1799.

The Tone’s a mix of Horror and a bit of Comedy.

Humor has some Funny Moments that made me laugh. Ten times funnier than these unfunny Comedies from 1999.

• Baby Geniuses
• Inspector Gadget
• My Favorite Martian
• The Other Sister
• The Out-of-Towners
• Wild Wild West
• Dudley Do-Right
• The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
• Drive Me Crazy
• Molly
• Passport to Paris
• The Bachelor
• Runaway Bride

Visual Effects are cheesy. They were intentionally made to pay homage to Roger Corman’s cheesy Horror B-Movies.

Pacing didn’t bore me at all. I was hooked since the beginning.

Tim stated the film pays tribute to Hammer Horror Films and the works of Roger Corman. He grew up watching them as a kid.

One scene pays homage to the Disney cartoon. The Headless Horseman holds a flaming pumpkin while Crane makes a run for it.

Unlike the book and Disney cartoon, Crane works as a police constable rather than a teacher. It’s fine for Crane to do something besides teaching kids.

To spice things up a notch, take a shot every time somebody faints. I’d drink water or anything non-alcoholic. I do not condone. alcohol poisoning.

A Plot Twist is revealed. I cannot tell you. See for yourself.

Cursed: A few characters don’t react to something scary. Tulio & Miguel (from The Road to El Dorado) display actual fear screaming like little girls. Heck, Fred Sanford (Sanford and Son) gets scared whenever he fakes a heart attack yelling… “You hear that, Elizabeth?” “I’m coming to join ya honey!”

Somebody said, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Ugh! I hate that line. Could’ve been better if it’s said differently. “Looks like you’ve seen Patrick Swayze.”

An early romance with Crane & Katrina felt forced. If this were real life, it would take a week or two for a pair to get to know one another before a relationship is fully established.

The Final Verdict: B-

Despite three gripes, Sleepy Hollow’s adequate. If it weren’t for the early romance lack of screaming, I would’ve given it an A-. If you’re looking for something to watch around Halloween Month, invite a girlfriend or boyfriend to your house if ya wanna have a good time.