The spooky season is upon us, so I thought I’d kick off the streak of horror and supernatural-themed movies with Tim Burton’s gory and atmospheric take on the classic short story.
I saw Sleepy Hollow at the cinema back in 1999 and liked it well enough, but I never felt a desire to re-visit it until now, after one of my favourite podcasts just happened to randomly mention it. It seems to be a somewhat forgotten mid-tier entry in Tim Burton’s filmography, neither a beloved classic nor memorably terrible. Upon the rewatch, its strengths and weaknesses remain unchanged, though it did give me a whole new appreciation of what a beautiful man prime Johnny Depp really was.
Depp is Ichabod Crane, an eccentric, fastidious and uptight young detective from New York City who sees himself on the cutting edge of new scientific thought, and is keen to drag the legal system kicking and screaming into the 19th century. His superiors think him a nuisance, and send him out of sight to a small Dutch village of Sleepy Hollow, recently rocked by a series of brutal decapitations (movies about the French Revolution probably don’t have as many graphic decapitations as this one).
Crane is received by the village elders, including a wealthy farmer Baltus Van Tassel (Michael Gambon), who all believe that the killings were done by the Headless Horseman, a malevolent undead apparition of a mercenary who was just as bloodthirsty in life. I didn’t remember the details of the plot and I was prepared to be annoyed by the movie dragging out Crane’s scepticism, but a personal encounter with the terrifying creature soon cures Crane of all doubt. Instead, he devotes his energy to uncovering a pattern behind the murders, and whether the Headless Horseman is doing someone else’s bidding.
Though Burton’s dark whimsy may be over-familiar these days, there’s no denying that Sleepy Hollow is a ravishingly gorgeous film, with production design and cinematography that create a rich, strikingly desaturated, deliciously gothic world, enlivened by the splashes of bright red blood. Some of it is heavily influenced by the classic Hammer horror films, and there’s a touch of steampunk about Crane’s elaborate mechanical contraptions. The spell is broken in a couple of scenes with some overly cartoonish CGI, but overall I loved spending time in this beautiful dark universe of shadows and mist, richly detailed interiors and menacing forests. On visuals alone, Sleepy Hollow is a triumph and easily one of the best-looking horror films ever made.
Johnny Depp is another highlight. Crane is not quite the romantic hero: he’s rather prissy, squeamish and prone to comical fainting, but Depp makes him a likeable and sympathetic hero and is always entertaining to watch. Crane’s blossoming romance with Van Tassel’s daughter Katrina is unfortunately a dud. Christina Ricci has the right mix of angelic and witchy, but her flat and wooden delivery drains the character of any emotion and, well, character. There’s likewise zero chemistry between Crane and his young sidekick who was made an orphan by the Headless Horseman.
There’s a nagging feeling of unfulfilled potential about the movie, considering the amount of talent involved. It seems to want to say something important about science, religion and trauma, but these remain little more than window dressing. Crane’s tragic backstory involving his mother is poorly integrated into the main story and comes off as an unnecessary distraction. The supporting cast, featuring the likes of Michael Gambon, Ian McDiarmid and Christopher Lee, is a fantasy and sci-fi nerd dream, but they all feel rather underused. Miranda Richardson as Katrina’s stepmother Lady Mary gets to do some fabulous scenery chewing late in the film, and Christopher Walken is an inspired casting for the Horseman (far more nightmarish with his head still attached to his shoulders), but it’s all a bit too little too late.
I’d never argue that Sleepy Hollow is some kind of unjustly ignored Tim Burton masterpiece, or even particularly scary. A strong lead performance and captivating imagery still make it worth watching, especially if you want some early Halloween vibes.
