Sleepy Hollow - A Movie Review

Welcome to Sleepy Hollow. Watch out for the Headless Horseman during your stay.

Based on the gothic story written by Washington Irving, Sleepy Hollow is a 1999 film adaptation. The town of Sleepy Hollow is amid drastic head decapitations. Ichabod Crane is sent to the town to inspect the investigation of the tale of the headless horseman.

You can never go wrong with Tim Burton. I am very surprised that I have never seen Burton’s adaptation of Sleepy Hollow until now. The entire story is a mysterious representation of a famous story. Crafting its own unique story details, Sleepy Hollow is a chilling film.

I cannot believe Johnny Depp refuses to watch this film all because he believes that he did not do a good job in his performance. Depp is the most enjoyable part of Sleepy Hollow. His interpretation of Ichabod Crane is a mix of the greatest facial expression comedy and dramatic performance. Depp’s eyes are the best along with his clumsy behavior.

Depp conveyed genuine emotion by delving into Crane’s broken mindset to decipher all the facts behind the murders in Sleepy Hollow. I liked scenes that contained moments from his past. These scenes help audiences understand his character. As described by Burton, he is great at fainting. And not the best horse rider.

Christina Ricci is wonderful as Katrina Van Tassel. I have always been intrigued by Ricci’s mature demeanor. I liked the friendship that rose between Ichabod and Katrina. Because Depp and Ricci are close in real life, their friendship felt genuine.

Sleepy Hollow includes several notable talents. Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Marc Pickering, Lisa Marie, Steven Waddington, and a brief appearance by the late Christopher Lee. And playing the role of the sinister headless horseman, Christopher Walken shines in the part.

Aside from the acting, Sleepy Hollow wins at its makeover of set construction and making it look like a period film. Only one scene was filmed near Sleepy Hollow. The rest of the film was shot on a beautiful gothic hand-crafted set of the town. Filmmakers did a noteworthy job of turning the set into the town of Sleepy Hollow.

Everything from the dark design, to the costume-period clothing, and the grainy weather in the dark forests, I felt like a was a member of the town. Crew members mentioned that they felt like they were walking through a real town on the sets of Sleepy Hollow in the mind of Tim Burton. It’s too bad that the town had to be dismantled once the production ended.

The headless horseman attack scenes are the signature moments of the film. The music is the best soundtrack. I was not expecting to enjoy this film so much, but it entertaining from beginning to end. The final chase sequence took three weeks to film.

Tim Burton knows how to scare audiences. Sleepy Hollow is very well-directed. He has quite the imagination. I like the attention he gave to signature scenes making sure that they were not too over-the-top for the approach that he was aiming for.

Boy, is Sleepy Hollow a dark film. At times, the film is very violent specifically with the headless horseman is on the prowl. That was Tim Burton’s intention. He was actually told to revise the first draft of the script because it was too violent.

I recommend that you watch Sleepy Hollow. It has become one of my favorite Johnny Deep films. This is not a film for children. Be aware that there are terrifying moments of horror that I was not expecting.