Review of Sleepy Hollow

Introduction

Sleepy Hollow, 1799. The townsfolk are being systematically hunted down and decapitated by a ghoulish apparition; the aptly named “Headless Horseman”. Riding into town on an almost nightly basis, he selects and pursues his victim, and then lops off said victim’s head (the head is never found - as if the horseman is collecting some gruesome souvenirs)…

The local constabulary have exhausted all leads and the job of tracking down this fiend is passed over to a keen practitioner of forensics, Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp). Crane subsequently travels to Sleepy Hollow with his doctor’s bag of tricks, determined to reveal the identity of the murderer.

But it’s not quite an open and shut case, however.

Video

Burton has obviously been influenced by the horror flicks of old as is obvious when one first sees the foggy, grey surroundings of Sleepy Hollow village. Although the images are mostly in greyscale, they are exceedingly atmospheric and the foggy scenes in the forest are particularly eerie and foreboding. They are stunningly lit and well composed, allowing the viewer to become really engrossed in the movie.

The anamorphic 1.85 transfer is top-notch and captures every detail with superb sharpness and gives the image an almost painting-like quality.

Contrast plays a key role in movies of this type, as it is too easy to lose detail in the shadows and other low-light areas. I am pleased to report that there are no such worries here; the quality of the photography and encoding is second-to-none.

Audio

The DD5.1 soundtrack (there’s also a Surround track) is very expansive with a good mix of suitably eerie ambient effects.

There are some good surround effects (listen for the swooshing of the horseman’s blade), and some very bold bass-stretching moments. The musical score is equally as impressive and a good match for the actions on-screen. Again, this will stretch your surround system and blow away any remaining cobwebs from your long-suffering sub.

Features

Tim Burton has supplied an audio commentary that unfortunately is not that good. It is obvious that he prefers directing to talking. There are some interesting comments made, but he tends to pause too long between them. Disappointing.

Much better is the 30-minute “Behind the Scenes” documentary that includes footage from the set and interviews with some of the cast and crew. There are lots of stories told of life on the set and makes compulsive viewing. Of more interest for me was the section dealing with the special effects used in the movie, showing how the movie’s gruesome decapitations were accomplished.

Also included are the usual theatrical and teaser trailers, cast and crew biographies and a photo gallery.

Conclusion

Tim Burton has obviously got something of a warped mind. From his twisted imagination have come the strangely enjoyable “Beetlejuice”, “Edward Scissorhands” and “Mars Attacks!”. But this, his latest film, is something of a mixed bag; never quite sure if it’s supposed to be light-hearted horror or horrific light-hearted entertainment.

Underneath the thin outer crust, lies a much thicker substrate of gristle and gore. The multitude of beheadings seems to be at a conflict with the story that Burton is trying so hard to convey. It never quite gels and I for one was left a little confused by it all. If Burton had stuck to the old ways of the Hammer films, he may have carried it off. But as it stands, the script and storyline fails to impress.

Which is a great shame for try as it may, Sleepy Hollow will remain just that - Hollow.