Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Heads will roll.
It’s that month of the year again where it’s totally okay for anything costume or spook related in the mainstream! To start it off, and also while following in line with the last movie we watched - tonight we go classic. Well, at least a classic tale - that of one headless horseman. Of course, this time it’s a take by resident flavor-man Tim Burton, so buckle up for a little fun jaunt in the country side and try not to lose your head, tonight we look at Sleepy Hollow.
I feel that most would know this story, at least probably if English (not sure how prevalent the tale is outside of the States and England), but we should probably talk about it anyways because it is a bit different take. Here, Crane is a detective who isn’t quite all that respected by his peers. He’s looking to make things much more scientific than the time period would have, and in turn his higher ups decide they can’t have him around bothering them. In turn, Crane gets sent upstate to a little place experiencing a murder spree to get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately for him, things are far more than natural with the killings, as the main culprit appears to a be long dead, headless warrior with a penchant for claiming the heads of others. Beyond the murderous dead, there seems to be a pattern forming with the body count - but can Crane figure it out in time to do anything?
There some changes here to what you may remember from the tale itself, but some of the difference also comes down to the acting. We get a detective version of Crane, being a bit more driven than his schoolteacher, and arguably more eccentric than his story counterpart thanks to the acting job. The backstory of the character has also been changed, giving him these flashbacks related to his mother throughout the movie to show a traumatic past. The horseman himself lost his head entirely intentional - hunted down by a group of soldiers - as opposed to an accidental cannonball. He’s also played up much more villainous than the story - being a soldier enticed entirely by the bloodshed of the war, going as far as to file down his teeth to give him a more shark-like grin. The love story presented is also changed around quite a bit - although lines delivered imply it’s a triangle of sorts, it never quite feels like our male and female lead are all that interested in anyone but each other. In all honesty, the “inspired by” tag is more accurate than anything else here - character names exist, the location exists, but the entire thing is really shuffled around and changed with things feeling more like easter egg nods towards the literature then it does using it as a guideline - like the horse’s name being Gunpowder.
The actors do a fine job here though. It can all come off a bit overly hammy at times, with plenty of characters really going nuts with it - like our headless horseman really just playing it up with weapon twirls and the dramatic joyful shouts in his flashbacks where the head is still on his shoulders. The main has that quirky level expected of Depp in a Burton movie by this point, and he does offer a few different branches of body language and facial expression that lets you know what the character should be feeling without the need to say anything. The supporting cast likewise has a habit of being over-the-top sometimes, but part of it also could be just fitting a mood and the actors playing into it. There’s really nothing here that I would call bad as far as the acting goes.
“Based upon”
The mood might feel a bit confused at times here. There’s plenty of jokey whimsical moments, but at the core of it the movie is a story about murder being completed by a bloodthirsty dead person littered with decapitations and panic. By all means, the levels of violence might not be suitable for the kids - if you haven’t noticed the R rating already - but the overall feel is pretty oppressive as well despite all the goofy moments. It’s what I mean by the mood being a bit confused. Oh no, a new murder! Time to mount up - and then Crane’s horse goes the other direction. The de-saturation of the movie that we tend to be quite aware of when going into a Burton movie is also pretty present. That being said, nothing set like this one tends to be overly vivid with colors and we generally find it fitting as it feels more “old timey.” Granted, the thing still has color - reds still stand out and all of that, it’s just a bit more muted feeling. Like a spooky over-cast day late in fall, where the color has drained from the world around you and the cold is starting to set in.
The effects work is pretty good. There are two moments that stand out as bizarre choices, perhaps akin to the confused mood statement - where eyes and tongues pop out cartoonishly for a scare. It’s less that they are inherently bad effects - I’ve seen much worse - but more than they seem out of place given the rest of the movie. Costumes are the stand out point here, being plenty of fun within the old setting. Of course, we get a couple of different dresses, the horseman’s attire (complete with a nice little sword), and even some wigs. There’s elements that are more over-played when it comes to props to accompany some of the costumes - like the inspection goggles of Crane. The setting itself is nice, giving some properly spooky woods as well as the village that feels appropriate while also slightly spooky. It all feels good to the eye, and really fits that October-tale visual you’d want.
Audio is good. As per my MO, none of the songs are sticking around with me afterward. That said, it still fits the movie well, offering plenty of background help to whatever emotion a scene wants you to have as well as the general atmosphere. It’s enjoyable enough, and never overshadows the actors line delivery. They use the effects well with sounds, giving plenty of lead up to horseman appearances as well as playing with the characters with the occasional phantom sound.
I guess you could say his skill level is ahead of the competition.
Is it better than the tale that inspires it? Well, it’s certainly longer and filled with more action and mystery, but whether that’s better or not is up to the watcher. It’s an enjoyable enough spin on the old tale, and it’s got a handful of names you’ll probably recognize doing a well enough job to entertain you. It can feel slightly lost with it’s mood at times, but in all honesty despite me saying that the humor helps bring a levity to the entire otherwise dreary supernatural mess the town is in so it’s enjoyable for the watcher. Not quite the “fun for the family” movie, but also not the “assault the senses” movie - it finds a nice slightly artistic middle ground that although may not impress everyone, it shouldn’t be hated either.