Sleepy Hollow Review: Halloween Horror Extravaganza

Sleepy Hollow is our first review in the Halloween Horror Extravaganza (a month-long adventure through spooky movies, books, and games). Well, it looks like we’re getting off to a great start. I wasn’t even planning to watch the Sleepy Hollow movie by Tim Burton until I did. This is one I’ve never actually seen until now, I’m sad to say. I had a lot of fun with it. I believe this is the perfect movie to start off our Extravaganza. It may not be considered a horror movie by some; it hits many of the important marks anyway – a dreadful atmosphere, an unstoppable supernatural villain, and lot’s of beheading’s. That’s good enough for me!

Introducing Sleepy Hollow

Right off the bat, I feel I need to address the controversy with Johnny Depp. As of now, there doesn’t seem to be any definitive conclusion on which side was the abuser or the abusee. That is not part of this discussion, either way. I believe we should be able to look at a work while ignoring the person behind it. That’s just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

So, I will be looking at Sleepy Hollow as a work by an actor, a director, a screenwriter, a set designer, etc. Their personal lives will not come into this. If Depp deserves praise for his acting, I will give it to him. If he turns out to be the person his ex claims he is, you don’t have to watch his stuff anymore if you don’t want to. That’s your decision and no-one else’s.

Anyway, now that the uncomfortable elephant is out of the room, let’s get going with the a movie.

We open with a montage that means nothing if you haven’t seen the movie and is integral to the plot if you have. I like the start. It’s nice and quick. We get a carriage of the Van Garrett’s riding through the gloom of night. Then wam! Lightning starts. The carriage driver is decapitated. Oh my, what will this old man do? He leaps from the carriage and runs into the corn field. Then he himself is decapitated.

This is a very effective start and I love the jack o lantern head on the scarecrow. A bloody start with great framing setting us up for the rest of the movie.

Then we find ourselves in New York in 1799 and meet police constable Ichabod Crain, our strange protagonist. One thing that I think gives this protagonist a lot of strength is that he’s played by a character actor. You don’t see enough main characters with as many oddities as Ichabod. He’s a coward, first and foremost. But he gets an amazing character arc as he loses that fear and becomes a hero. 

This is a classic framing device. A character lives in fear and in denial of his true self. Then extreme circumstances force him to rise to the occasion, shed his fear coat, and become a hero. This just ramps it up to 11 with Ichabod shaking like a scared child as he hears the tale of the Headless Horseman. 

I get ahead of myself. We were talking about the intro to Ichabod. His conflict with the rest of the police force is short and sweet. A few short scenes give us all the context we need to know where we’re starting out.

I always love seeing Christopher Lee (RIP), the old judge who sends Ichabod on his death-defying journey. It’s a nice touch to see Ichabod’s skeptical scientific mind shunned by the old-fashioned folk of the police establishment of New York in the late 1700s. It’s one of the few realistic things in this movie.

We also see a brutal police system. No need for true evidence, just a confession gained through torture. We see a man severely beaten for burglary and thrown into a hole in the floor as a cell. Interesting huh? Not like that kind of stuff still happens or anything… Nope. The American justice system has evolved quite a bit since 1799.

Ichabod is “put to the test.” The police force doesn’t even tell him he’s going on a quest to fight a supernatural villain, just that three people have ended up with their head’s chopped off. 

All of this was before the title sequence. Oh boy, It looks like we’ll be here for a while. I hope you’ve got some coffee or something. 

We’re introduced to several of Ichabod’s scientific instruments, his notebook, and the strange scarring on his hands. Again, the direction and screenplay is very well put together. All kinds of foreshadowing falling across our screen. Get it? Because foreSHADOWING? Never mind. 

The town of Sleepy Hollow itself is spooky with overcast skies, a graveyard at the entrance to town, old houses decayed and overgrown with vines. We see all of this as Ichabod walks through town. As he goes, we see the watchtower with spikes all around. We’ve got our dread going. The music has us going as well.

The manor at the other side of town is foreboding against the night sky. We see a couple making out right outside the door. I promise this isn’t foreshadowing. You can believe me with this. Why would I lie to you?

On another topic, foreshadowing, there’s no way to know what it means at first. Half the time you don’t get that it’s foreshadowing at all. Then it’s a critical moment once you’re given context. 

Ichabod enters the manor at the edge of town. Inside, there’s a party and a slew of important characters to be introduced. 

Uh oh? The love interest meets the hero. “Who wants a kiss from the picketty witch?” Apparently this is a game that used to be played. Maybe they made it up for the movie. Either way, our beautiful love interest, Katrina Van Tassel (daughter of the richest guy in town and the owner of the manor), is wearing a blindfold and standing in the middle of a circle of men. Ichabod isn’t paying attention and ends up getting kissed and “losing” the game without knowing he was playing. That sounds like a fun game. And Christina Ricci is absolutely gorgeous in this film. She’s a good actor too. But man, if I were twice my age… Sadly, I wasn’t a year old when she was 19 and filming this. Oh well, a man can dream, I guess. 

This is as good a time as any to point out the cast. We’ve got Dumbledore and Mr. Dursley. The star of Starship Troopers. An Adam’s family member. Darth Sidious is around for a while. Dracula himself has a cameo. And we’ve got Captain Jack Sparrow. I’m sure there are others who I don’t recognize.

Our interview with the leaders of the town isn’t suspicious at all. No one has anything to hide from the police. 

Then we have the flashback. The psychopathic monster that was the Hessian Mercenary (now known as the Headless Horseman) played by the brilliant Christopher Walken, is so much fun to watch. He reminds me a great deal of Biter from the Song of Ice and Fire books. If you only watched Game of Thrones, you won’t get the reference. He’s easily missed in the show. Back to the Hollow.

It’s funny how the only book the town chaplain recommends Ichabod read in his search for answers is the one book that breaks the case open. I’ll admit, I saw that one coming. But the family tree at the beginning of the massive tome was a dead giveaway. 

Gotta love the horror trope of one man alone in the watchtower. Frankly, if there was a murdering ghoul hunting in my town, I’d want three or four men with me during my watch. But that would make the following beheading and Ichabod’s first proof of his investigatory abilities totally invalid. I’m willing to overlook the stupidity. There are a few things that happen later on that I won’t be so kind with. 

“It’s alright, I’m here now.” says Ichabod as he arrives at the decapitated body. Sure buddy. Everything’s fine indeed.

Johnny Depp does his Johnny Depp thing with the looking for clues scene. It’s just the right amount of cringy to him being decent at his job. He’s very clearly out of his element here but he’s making due the best he can. That’s about the best any of us can.

With the funeral of the fourth beheading, we get our sidekick character who proves somewhat useful. The son of the late Masbath now has a vendetta against the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. 

Finding the Headless Horseman

With another beheading, the new sidekick, and the knowledge that there were actually five bodies in four graves since the Widow Winship (one of the victims) was pregnant, we spiral into our second act.

For those who don’t know, most stories are written to have a “three act structure.” With the beginning 25% being the first act. The middle 50% being the second, and the third act taking up the last 25%. Now we have our middle. The plan is established, “gather more evidence to find the human killer.” Obviously all this Headless Horseman stuff is nonsense. Ichabod will find the true culprit.

I don’t know if autopsies were considered heathenistic in 1799 or not. But it adds for some additional conflict. That’s always good. Natural conflict is important for good storytelling.

I don’t quite understand why there’s so much blood from a woman who’s been dead for at least two to three days. Probably more like a week. I guess I shouldn’t complain about seeing blood. But the beheadings have almost no blood at all and then a long-dead corpse literally spurts the stuff. 

Ichabod rides his horse through the covered bridge in the middle of town. There’s a rider behind him. Oh god, it’s the Horseman! Ichabod gallops away and into the woods as fast as his horse can carry him. He slows to see his pursuer and WAM! A flaming jack o lantern is thrown into his face, knocking him from his horse.

The Horseman rides off and we see that it was not the Hessian madman but Katrina’s current boyfriend. Or suitor. Or whatever he is. We never really find out. I haven’t mentioned him until now because he isn’t much of a character. Honestly, he could have been left out of the movie all together and it wouldn’t feel like anything was missing. Before this sequence, we saw him a handful of times glaring at Ichabod. He wanted to start a fight with the protagonist when Katrina kissed him in the game at the manor. But that’s the only other action he’s taken before now.

Ichabod passes out after his ordeal with almost being killed. He dreams a flashback for the audience and himself. He’d oppressed several childhood events up until now. His backstory is almost more horrible than what happens in the actual movie. A religious fundamentalist father tortures and kills his own wife, and Ichabod’s mother, for being a witch.

More foreshadowing! The book of spells Ichabod receives from Katrina Van Tassel is a nice gift. It just so happens that he should “keep it close to his heart,” as protection against harm. Wink wink.

Katrina takes Ichabod to her childhood home, an old hut which burned down many years ago. There’s naught but a few sticks clawing at the sky and the chimney to even tell you there was once a home there. Visiting the old hut, we see that Ichabod’s mother wasn’t the only mother who taught her child those spirals at the fireplace. We saw them in the flashback sequence just a few scenes ago. Drawing in the ash of the fire seems to be something witches do. Who’d have guessed? He has to step away with the realization. More intrigue. To be honest, I was thinking maybe he had been in Sleepy Hollow as a child when I first watched it. But looking back, that doesn’t make any sense. Having both mothers be witches is definitely better.

I do love the optical illusion of the cardinal on one side of a sliver of cardboard and the cage on the other. Both ends are tied with string and when you spin it, the bird looks caged. It’s good characterization and a great way for him to come to his final realization at the end of the film. The truth isn’t always what it seems. The writers and Burton really do know what they’re doing when it comes to story construction, I must say. Sure, it’s not perfect but no story is. It’s a clever tool that does many things, including getting Katrina even more interested in this eccentric constable from the big city.

Then Ichabod meets the Horseman. For real this time. Ichabod sees the town magistrate, one of the elders, beheaded by our haunting monster. The lightning. The music. The building dread. The horses whinny as it gallops into frame. Then the Horseman whips out his sword and gives it a swirl as he rides down his next victim.  Slice. Ichabod finds himself on the ground as the Horseman steals his prize (the head. The horseman always steals the head of his victims) and rides off.

Now we’re in the truth phase. Ichabod is absolutely terrified. I would certainly be. As a skeptic myself, if that happened to me I would probably have a similar reaction overall. Maybe not the passing out but who knows? I’ve never had a decapitated head land between my legs as I lie on the ground only to have it stabbed by a sword and stolen by an undead assassin.

Now our flashback to see what happened to Ichabod’s mother. More details in a hazy mist of unconsciousness.

He’s no-longer afraid. Sure, he’s still scared. But now he knows what he’s dealing with and will go off to the western woods, the resting-place of the Horseman. That is where the Huntsman of Sleepy Hollow hunted him down and cut off his head some 20 years ago. Of course, not a damn person goes with him accept his Masbeth companion.

The forest is dead. Not an animal to be heard. Let’s go deeper into these woods. What’s the worst that could happen? A dude without a head could cut mine off? I’m sure I’ll be fine.

The witch’s cave! So much fun. Creepy as hell. I love the atmosphere in this scene and how Ichabod uses his young companion as a body shield as they enter the cave. Yes, his pistol is drawn but he’s cowering behind his young companion. He really isn’t the kind of man you’d want on your side in a dangerous situation.

Chaining herself to the wall, the witch prepares her ritual. Very Tim Burton. She cuts off a bat’s head and pours the blood onto her herbal clump on the table. She inhales the smoke that begins without a spark. She brings in the other, although she knows where to find the Horseman without needing to summon the Devil or whatever demon she allows access to her form. So the scene happens to happen. She really could have just told Ichabod. Then again, we wouldn’t get…

Late 90s bad CGI eyeballs popping out of her head and a long tongue waggling! The witch’s transformation is spooky. She drags her chains to the limit, actually toppling the table and landing on top of Ichabod, clawing at his face as she gives him directions to the Horseman’s grave.

Oh yay! We get more of the lovely Katrina Van Tassel. Ichabod almost shoots her but she just gives him this “really?” look when she lowers her hood. I love her spirit. Grown men are terrified and won’t even dare come close to the haunted grounds. Men who probably pride themselves on being “real men” based on the time period this is taking place in. And this woman who’s barely more than a child (assuming the character was the age of the actress, 19), rides off alone to meet up with the man she’s falling for. Ichabod is a lucky man. There’s fire in that heart. And magic. And… I’ll stop.

Our trio is here for the remainder of the movie. Our cowardly protagonist, an orphan, and the young witch. I’d say that makes for quite the group. All of them are misfits to some degree or another. I don’t know who I respect more. The child avenging his father? The aristocrat who’s following her heart? Or the coward who has a cell to look forward to if he returns to New York empty handed? Probably the witch. She’s the only one who doesn’t have to go. The other two are bound by strong instincts. She’s just infatuated with this strange dude from the big city enough to risk her own neck. 

Hmm… now that I think about it, that’s also a strong instinct. 

So we have vengeance, self preservation (and the pursuit of justice if you want to give that to Ichabod), and wanting to get laid. Nice motivations all around, lol. Powerful emotions that guide people to do courageous/stupid things. I put a / because courage and stupidity are two sides of the same coin.

You could argue that it’s true love that guides Katrina and what not. But that doesn’t kick in for a while. They’re just horny for each other right now. If it works out later, that’s awesome. As of now, they’re in the infatuation stage. But I digress. This isn’t a sexy-time review it’s a spooky-time one!

The tree of the dead looms ahead. It’s a tall and ancient growth, gnarled with twisting branches. It’s been dead for quite a while and only the thick base of the main branches remain. Ichabod heroically strolls over to the roots which stand as tall as he does and hacks into it, immediately being splashed in the face with blood. Interesting how Burton turns blood into slapstick comedy. Ichabod hacks away to see why this tree is bleeding. Something very wrong is going on. Almost every time he strikes the roots, a spurt of blood splashes him in the face. He begins tearing at the roots with his hands. Then a small hole inside the tree is revealed. Within the hole there rests five severed heads. Their lifeless eyes stare out into nothingness.

Ichabod doesn’t miss a step. He’s able to latch onto how magic works as soon as he knows that’s what’s going on.  Skeptic into an expert. His critical thinking skills adapt after a night of nightmares. That’s the sign of a quick mind.

He climbs to a higher part of the ground where a thick root stretches. “This place is a gateway to the other side,” he realizes. There is a rusty sword plunged into the soil where he now stands. He begins to dig. Several feet down, there is a headless corpse. A skeleton and nothing more. Ah, but where is the head. His head was severed but buried with him! That is why the Horseman wakes. He’s seeking his own head.

The Horseman’s body is intertwined with moving roots, they begin to sow into the body and create… the Hessian madman bursts from the place in the tree where the heads had been stored. Already mounted on his black devil, he races off into the night.

Well shit.

The next sequence has the highest death-tole in any one part of the movie. A whole family is slaughtered. The father, mother, and child, are all decapitated. Fortunately we cut away before seeing the kid get it, but the horseman cuts into the floorboards where he’d been hiding and drags him up into his way too early grave.

This next scene is the first time we really see just how overpowered this guy is. He’s been swift and precise up until now. We finally see that he simply isn’t stoppable by normal folk. Even ones who know how to fight don’t stand a chance against our supernatural horror villain. Even though he can’t die, he rarely let’s himself get hit. When he does, a fatal wound for a human doesn’t even slow the Horseman. Now the end of the romantic rival who didn’t have to be in the movie at all. A very minor character who’s death doesn’t seem to have an impact on anything. It’s one of the weakest points in the film, IMO, if you can’t tell.

All the same, we see the pointless character cut clean in half by the Horseman.

Here comes the obligatory “love interest nurses her beloved back to health” scene. 

It feels like a bit of a leap that Ichabod puts together why the Horseman only kills a specific target so fast. He’s an unwilling assassin, slaved to a human master. But he’s pretty good with analytical leaps so it’s not really a problem. 

Ichabod’s final memory of his mother in the iron maiden and Ichabod accidentally stabbing himself on a spiked chair in fright as he sees what’s happened to her is … Jesus … I stand by my statement earlier that his backstory is dark as hell.

Ichabod and Katrina sit on his bed as he heals from his fight with the Horseman and talk for a while …Kiss her you fool! Don’t just hug her! Come on bro. 

Ichabod awakens the next day and the lady Van Tassel is nursing him. This is not Katrina’s mother but a new wife. The mother died of a brain fever and her sick nurse is now the lady of the household.

Oh, the servant girl vanished, do you say? Hmm. I wonder if that will become important later. 

I do love the reasoning scene that comes next. The bible’s first page with the family tree sends our Sherlock and his young Watson to the Notary.

There the almost conclusion of the mystery is revealed. We gain much valuable information. We find that Notary Hardenbrook and the other town elders have been entwined in a conspiracy. It’s all to do with the last will and testament of the old man Van Garrett. The papers that were signed and sealed at the very beginning of the film. The Widow Winship was named successor to all property. Van Garrett and Winship were married in secret. That child she was carrying was his. 

The Horseman killed both father and son Van Garrett. Then the Widow Winship and her unborn child. Next was the one Ichabod examined at the crime scene. Jonathan Masbath, the father of the sidekick, was a personal servant to the Van Garrett’s. His signature was the one used to legally bind the will!

Did you get all that? Good. It would seem Ichabod’s hypothesis of a human controlling the Horseman was right.

But who? Who would have gained from all this? Well, the last will and testament was new and only a small few knew of it’s existence. The original will had the next of kin being the one who would gain the lands and fortunes. Baltus Van Tassel, father to the lovely Katrina and now the richest man in Sleepy Hollow.

I like it. I like it a lot. The mystery elements are just convoluted enough that it’s complicated but not so much so that it’s nonsense. I find there’s a fine line between so convoluted that it’s interesting versus that it’s stupid. Many storytellers get so caught-up in their conspiracies that they become ridiculous. I would say this is right on the line but not passing it, for my taste. It’s all succinct and clear. Granted, I’ve watched this scene three times and now feel I understand fairly well. I don’t think I knew who everyone was during my first viewing well enough to fully grasp what all of it meant. But the gist is clear. There’s a human afoot, telling the Horseman what to do and every murder has been linked to the Van Garrett estate. Who knew Sleepy Hollow’s politics were as cut-off-head (rather than cut-throat. haha, please laugh) as King’s Landing? Or Medieval London?

It turns out there was a strange circle drawn under Ichabod’s bed. Young Masbath says it’s the “evil eye.” And that Ichabod has been hexed. Well damn. That’s not good at all. Who do we know that’s knowledgeable and capable of that? You might have guessed it, Katrina.

I’ll admit, I was sad to see it. She had been way too nice up until now. The bewitching Katrina was the one performing the evil all along! And she’d grown so close to Ichabod to ensure he didn’t figure out too much. As Ichabod himself says later on, evil lurking behind virtue is the most dangerous kind. 

Ichabod is drawn away to see  the couple in the woods. When he returns, the letters are gone. Katrina, oh Katrina! She burns them in the old hut she brought him too not long ago. The evidence that would lead to the culprit smolders into ash as Ichabod rides up. She claims it is to protect her father but we all know the truth. Rather, I did. Why do I always fall for the bad ones? Well, not normally the murdering kind of bad. More like baaad chicks. This is a new low for me. I feel you Ichabod. And she’s a real person for you, not just a figment of fiction.

We have reached our dark night of the soul moment. Although Ichabod hasn’t figured out that it was her yet. She curses the day he came to Sleepy Hollow and rides off. The lovers are no-more. This is what’s often called the “dark night of the soul” or the “all is lost moment.” The couple are apart. Oh, woe is me. The angelic Katrina was a malevolent witch all along. Damn you Tim Burton! Actually, he didn’t write it- Damn you Kevin Yagher and Andrew Kevin Walker!

Fighting in Sleepy Hollow

Okay, time for me to get over it. The red herring of her father has yet to be dealt with. Now that we have reached the all is lost moment, we find ourselves in act three. The climactic final act where all loose ends will be tied up, the mystery solved, and the Horseman laid to rest. Sleepy Hollow will rest soundly for the first time in quite a while.

The Village crowds into the church for the town meeting that has been summoned to deal with Ichabod. Father and daughter meet outside. Katrina’s step mother is dead! Killed by the Horseman. Now he comes for Baltus Van Tassel. The villagers open fire and shoot everything they have, not even knocking the undead assassin off his horse as he circles the church, unable to cross the threshold.

The lingering three town elders are all killed. One as he tries to confess, the other is shot after he killed the first, and Baltus Van Tassel panics and flees. Katrina draws on the floor. Baltus climbs to the alter, a gun raised, his back to the windows as he fends off the towns folk trying to cease him after shooting the chaplain. The Horseman’s kill of Van Tassel is gruesome and savage. There’s less carnage than the family slaughter but it is certainly more violent. The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow fashions a hunting spear out of a fence post spike. He ties a rope to one end and throws the projectile through the window. The spear rips through his victim’s chest. Blood spews everywhere as the large spike penetrates the old man’s rib cage. Then Van Tassel is dragged by the rope out of the window. He’s dragged through the churchyard and graveyard until he slams into the fence. Dazed and consumed with pain, his last sight is the horseman’s sword swinging down at his throat.

Katrina passes out, for she saw all of it happen. Perhaps she’s haunted by what she did? She painted the same symbol on the ground that hexed Ichabod. But her distress seemed genuine. Perhaps there’s more going on. Please don’t let it be her. 

Ichabod decides to leave Sleepy Hollow after all the town elders have died. His place is in New York where things make sense. The goodbye between the young Masbeth and Ichabod is short and sad. A painful lesson of how evil’s most dangerous mask is that of virtue. How true that is. Ichabod has been “beaten down by reason,” with his realization that it’s Katrina.

Then we get the bird and cage optical illusion once more. Ichabod sees the slice on the beheaded step mother’s hand as his carriage rides by and her body is taken into the morgue. Oh my! Something’s off. He checks the book Katrina gave him. The magic circle she drew was not a hex but a protection for a loved one! Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. This is all wrong!

The realization that Katrina isn’t the evildoer brightens my heart! How the world makes sense again. But then, who is it really? Her father was killed by the horseman…

Ichabod rushes into the morgue to examine the corpse of the Lady Van Tassel. When he’d followed a man into the woods just before Katrina stole the papers, he’d seen the lady and the chaplain making love. She took a knife and cut open her hand in some masochistic exercise. The gash on the corpse’s hand was done post-mortem. No blood clotting or healing. The stepmother is alive? Ichabod rushes back to the manor in all haste.

Katrina sits in her house, despairing over the loss of her father and Ichabod’s departure. The Lady Van Tassel enters the room. Katrina passes out.

Shit shit shit! This is not good. That evil bitch better not touch a single hair on her head! Come on Ichabod, you have to do this one. I’m just a reviewer. Save her dammit!

Oh shit. Everything I thought was a lie, yes! But Karina is unconscious and at the mercy of the real witch. There were so many loops and turns. So it was the Lady Van Tassel all along…

Wait. Why is she monologuing? The servant girl’s body was used for the fake lady. I guess she didn’t “run away” like the lady said she did earlier. Yet more small clues becoming important later. I love it. 

Why is she telling us her backstory? Oh boy, we’ve got the villain tells the hero everything scene now. It kind of makes sense but also feels contrived. Why is she telling us everything she did and why she did it? She even killed her sister for helping Ichabod track down the horseman.

She originally lived in the hut that’s been burned down. But then, the landlord, Van Garrett (the first victim of the Horseman) kicked them out. Her father died and her mother was a witch, so there was no chance of being accepted by Sleepy Hollow. They lived in the woods for many years. Her mother died soon after. She and her sister were there the day the Hessian Horseman was murdered.  

This character being the villain is clever but also comes out of nowhere. She hasn’t been much of a character and now she’s this evil witch. Okay, I guess. I get that we need red herrings in a mystery. But the villain character should have some presence, even if it’s a false persona. I’d barely registered her as a character until the reveal. I suppose that’s not a bad thing. But this mystery is much more of the “this is how it happened, aren’t we clever?” type. Rather than the “look at all these clues. Don’t you feel silly that you didn’t put them together yet?” I prefer the latter type but I had way too much fun with this movie to say it ruins it.

She also explains that she killed Katrina’s mother and became the lady of the household to gain a legacy and have legal rights to the manor and holdings. There’s just one final step. One more head that must be severed, Katrina. For she is the only heir to Baltus’ fortune. Next will be his wife.

The acting in this scene really ramps up the campy “this is the villain telling the hero everything scene.” Even if it’s not Ichabod but the love interest instead. It’s still the same idea. Didn’t the Incredibles make fun of the villain monologuing scenes? There’s a reason. It’s silly.

I also don’t understand why the lady Van Tassel doesn’t just kill Katrina herself. She’s right there! She even passed out when she saw you were alive! The lady used an ax and killed the servant girl herself. And did the same with her own sister. she’s clearly not afraid of getting her hands dirty. But no, she summons the horseman for this final kill.

I know why, because the plot wouldn’t work otherwise. Because we wouldn’t get our final fight with the Horseman and Katrina would die before Ichabod would even get a chance to save her.

This is the part where I mentioned I wouldn’t go easy. I’ve found that the ending is when most of the problems arise in a film, book, or TV show. An otherwise great or serviceable movie finds that it can’t end well and falls apart. Something that’s had solid internal logic becomes a total mess. Sleepy Hollow is far from the only movie to do this. But I was having fun. Everything had a sense of logic to what was happening. Cause and effect were strong, even if we couldn’t have solved the mystery ourselves without paying eagle eyed attention to every little detail (I’ll grant that maybe a few people did figure out it was her before the climax. I certainly didn’t but I’m not a huge mystery buff. From my perspective, it felt like there was no way of seeing it coming on your first viewing).

This villain has been extremely cautious until now. She never explained herself to anyone. She cut her own sister’s head off for simply helping Ichabod! She snuck up behind her and everything. But now she’s being all gloaty. She doesn’t even tie Katrina down to ensure a swift death by the Horseman.

Oh well. This one scene is pretty bad but it doesn’t ruin the rest of the movie. It’s not a plot twist that re-contextualizes everything in a way that invalidates everything that came before. That’s when the revelation scene ruins a movie. This is just not the best they could have done. The antagonist goes from calculating and cautious to a bond villain. It feels kind of lazy.

Now for the climax 

The mill chase. How exciting. Climbing while barely getting away from the crazed murderer. The dread filled music. Setting the mill on fire. Oh my. 

Of course, the Horseman isn’t even scathed after all that. 

Our horse chase begins. The trio in a carriage versus the Horseman on his black steed. Ichabod embraces the hero within him. He shows no fear as he climbs atop the carriage and fires at the Horseman as he climbs onto the back of the carriage.

Ichabod is struck by a low-hanging branch and falls onto the Horseman’s saddle. Then the Horseman and Ichabod switch places again. The chase is dynamic and heart-pounding. Music swells. 

Holy shit, Ichabod is fighting the Horseman on top of the wagon. This is bad. Very bad. 

More chaos. The carriage detaches from the horses and the Horseman crashes into the trees as Ichabod holds on for dear life as the horses, now mounted by the other two, run along the road.

But of course, where else could they end up than the dead tree. 

This evil bitch shoots Ichabod clean in the chest as they arrive. That’s um, bad. And the Horseman arrives to finish his job. Of course he does! Perfect timing. It’s all about to end tragically when Ichabod and the lady Van Tassel fight across the ground to get to the skull. 

Right as the Horseman is about to cut off Katrina’s head, Ichabod throws him his. Some late 90s CGI takes place and we see our Headless Horseman with a head once more. 

Of course, the book Katrina gave Ichabod is the thing that saved his life and protected his heart from the bullet. 

Our Hessian madman grabs the witch who stole his skull and drags her down to hell with him. A fitting end for a vindictive monologuing witch.

Our hero and love interest move to New York for their happily ever after. 

Fin

Well now, that was quite a lot. I wasn’t expecting to have so much to say. If this is how every one of my reviews go, I’ve got my work cut out for me. I’m still working on format and what not so you’ll get to watch that develop.

Sleepy Hollow: quite the film. I had a blast both times I watched it for this review. Once to simply watch as a viewer and the second to write this giant scrawl.

I’ve already given my thoughts. Overall, it’s a fun piece. It’s no masterwork that will change your life, but few films achieve that. This movie wasn’t trying to be anything else than what it is, a fun haunted ride through Sleepy Hollow with witches and undead maniacs.

Besides the villain monologue, which is easily the worst part of the movie, everything works well. I only have a handful of problems worth mentioning with it. It’s a Tim Burton film through and through. If you’ve read all of this and still haven’t watched it, do yourself the favor and do so. It’s on Netflix as of now.

Thank you for joining me in my first of many reviews both this month and for the foreseeable future. I’m still working on how I want to do these. Give me some feedback. I want to know what you think both of the movie itself and my writings on it. 

Follow my Facebook page for more reviews, to interact with other fiction nerds (yes, you’re one if you made it this far), and updates about the progress with my current novel.

This is Jeshua Hicks, signing off.