Halloween Candy In November?

Rating: 6/10 (26 November 1999)

Entertainment ala Burton. Sinister cinematic visuals, colored with light anecdote, and occasional sophomoric animation.
The movie is worthy of viewing, keynoting the word view, but do not contemplate, or expect overpowering dialogue or story development. In fact, the grand finale will likely trouble you with a lengthy recitation of events that were not (but could have been) interwoven and developed in the plot. Therefore, throughout the movie, glimpses of seemingly unrelated, unimportant scenes will be presented (with audience wondering "when will this stuff culminate"). Yet, a unique story (not Irving's original) is refreshing novelty, creating more curiosity and suspense. Criminology and forensics are tested against the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Moments of blood spurting, and dismemberment are forthcoming. Several Krafty, aka "cheesy", lines (this grammatical twist being representative of the film, not the reviewer) occasionally induce laughter. A few instances of characters with cartoonlike eye bulging and lolling tongues....during horror scenes....were reminiscent of Beetle Juice or Looney Tunes, and were out of synch with movie's flavor. In fact, more horrific than the Headless Horseman, it was hard to discern whether these effects were meant for horror or laughter. Costume, lighting, and other visual display are unarguably horror apperpo and convincingly eerie. Handsomely imaginative investigatory tools wielded by Crane are reminiscent of "Scissorhands", grotesquely large, clumsy, mechanical devices.
In summation, a light-hearted "fright" movie earning early respect with handsome imagery and notable actors. Remove the sugar coating and what remains is a scantily clad, disproportionate skeleton of a story.