Sleepy Hollow

Horror, Fantasy, Thriller

Alun Armstrong	High Constable
Johnny Depp	Constable Ichabod Crane
Michael Gambon	Baltus Van Tassel
Michael Gough	Notary James Hardenbrook
Richard Griffiths	Samuel Philipse
Jeffrey Jones	Reverend Steenwyck
Ian McDiarmid	Dr. Thomas Lancaster
Christina Ricci	Katrina Anne Van Tassel
Tony Maudsley	Van Ripper
Marc Pickering	Young Masbath

Director	Tim Burton
Producer	Francis Ford Coppola; Scott Rudin
Writer	Andrew Kevin Walker; Washington Irving
Cinematography	Emmanuel Lubezki
Musician	Danny Elfman

The films of Tim Burton shine through the muck like a jack-o-lantern on a foggy October night. After such successes as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands, it should come as no surprise that Sleepy Hollow is a dazzling film, a delicious reworking of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Dark and moody, the film is a thrilling ride back to the turn of the 19th century. Johnny Depp stars as Ichabod Crane, a seemingly hapless constable from New York City who is sent to the small town of Sleepy Hollow to solve the mystery of the decapitations that are plaguing the town. Crane is a bumbling sort, with a tremendous faith in science over mysticism, and he comes up against town secrets, bewitching women, and a number of bodies missing heads. Christina Ricci, as beautiful as ever, is Katrina Van Tassel, the offbeat love interest who alternately charms and frightens Crane.

The film, while occasionally gory (as one should expect from a movie about a headless horseman), is not terribly frightening, although it is suspenseful. Both Depp and Ricci are convincing, and the art direction and production values give the village its harsh feel. Toward the end, once the secrets are revealed, the film does slow down; however, this stylistic horror film provides many tricks and even more treats. --Jenny Brown