Sleepy Hollow Review

I thought I might dig into aesthetics and mood for this review. Seems pretty obvious for a Tim Burton doesn’t it? The monochromatic nature of it. The gloom and gothic feeling of it all. But no. My main takeaway from watching Sleepy Hollow for the first time in easily a decade is that the Headless Horseman is a real fancy fighter. He spins his sword! He spins axes! I was constantly enamoured with how he twirled his weapons. There was a flair to how he fought. It didn’t need to be there, but I bloody loved it.

As I read up on the film afterwards, it became clear why. The stunt coordinator is Nick Gillard – or Cin Drallig for those in the know – who worked on the Star Wars Prequels! Like a cloud lifting, it suddenly became clear, especially as Episode 1 and Sleepy Hollow came out in the same year. The rhythm and flow of the fights felt familiarly well put together. This was backed up by another revelation. The Horseman, when headless at least, was Ray Park! It all makes sense now.

I went into this viewing knowing I liked the film. It’s oppressive tone, physical sets, and impressive cast felt like a great way to close off spooky season. But this time it landed extremely well, and the extra knowledge of the fighting has bumped it up even more.

When I think of Tim Burton, I usually think of Batman, Beetlejuice, or Nightmare Before Christmas. This will be up there now.

It’s a fun film, with a pleasing amount of practical gore. Small moments like a head spinning on the neck before falling away, then promptly rolling open-mouthed into Johnny Depp’s lap. Who by the way looks like a Burton drawing come to life.

Sleepy Hollow doesn’t hit any of its theme deeply, such as the implementation of forensics. But it doesn’t matter. This is a bloody entertaining movie.