Sleepy Hollow

1999′s Sleepy Hollow is somewhat of a historical horror film, directed by Tim Burton. It is based on an interpretation of the legend of the Headless Horseman and is also based loosely around the Washington Irving story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The film stars Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci and contains many of the typical Burton qualities, including dark photography, eerie music and interesting visuals.

Sleepy Hollow follows the story of young constable Ichabod Crane (Depp) as he is sent from New York City to the settlement of Sleepy Hollow in order to investigate a number of slayings. The killings are all rather ghoulish and the similarities between them include the decapitation of the victims. The townspeople tell Crane that they believe a headless ghost is responsible for the killings, but Ichabod is skeptical. Crane begins to learn more about the killings and various supernatural events begin to occur, leaving him no choice but to believe in the legend of the Headless Horseman.

Burton shot Sleepy Hollow using a blue filter, creating a certain mood that worked throughout the picture to add a darker tone. There were a number of elements to the film that Burton fought for, including the killing of the entire Killian family. Elements like this made Sleepy Hollow a very eerie and dark picture while still preserving a comic element, creating a feel that was akin to a graphic novel. The atmosphere and the visuals are very creepy and odd, representing a film style that is straight-up Burton. Watching the film again, I’m not sure anybody else could have contained and presented the subject matter in a more effective and entertaining way.

Sleepy Hollow is, perhaps, Burton’s best looking film. The trees are moody and dark, the characters are rich, and the backdrops to the scenes are eerie and frightening in and of themselves. The film is so drenched in its blue-based doom that one doesn’t even really need any headless ghouls to make it scary. Danny Elfman, one of Burton’s accomplices, adds exquisite tone to Sleepy Hollow with his haunting and engaging score. The score is heavily reliant on the low end of the orchestra here, creating sound that is almost oppressively dark and dreary. Elfman’s score and Burton’s visuals add up to create an environment here, not just a simple film.

Unfortunately, some of the other elements were lacking. The story, for example, contains very little forward momentum and tends to drag at times. Thankfully, Sleepy Hollow is more or less an exercise in mood than it is a blazingly entertaining yarn. Depp and Ricci are reasonably good enough, but this is really the Tim Burton Show. It is dark, comic, evil and tense all rolled into one moody spectacle for the ears and the eyes. It’s just the brain that needs to be shut down for 105 minutes.

Trailer: