A dark, repugnant, gory film.....probably Burton's worst effort, in my humble opinion

Rating: 5/10 (9 December 2007)

Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is a coroner for New York City in the late 1700's. He is constantly chiding the other coroners that scientific means should determine the cause of a person's death, not what first impressions may dictate. Consequently, the others send me him to Sleepy Hollow, New York, a Dutch-heritage town in upstate New York, where three people have been decapitated. The most ghastly facts are that their heads have not been found and that a "headless horseman" is the one responsible for their murders. Ichabod scoffs at that idea, for he believes there must be a reasonable explanation for the murders. Of course, he is determined to bring the murderer to justice. But, once he gets to the town, he sees the horseman himself, in the act, and he is horrified. Now, four people are dead and. more importantly, how can this supernatural killer be stopped? Ichabod meets a bevy of folks to hatch some ideas, among them a beautiful, wealthy young lady named Katrina (Christina Ricci). Katrina tries to provide Ichabod with clues, even as others in town work to help him find the answers, too, for everyone lives in fear that he or she will become the next victim. Will Ichabod be able to end the killings? Now, first let me state that I believe Burton to be a great film director, as evidenced in Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and Mars Attacks, among others. However, Hollow is dark and repugnant and, I believe, his worst film. It has an abundance of bloody scenes that are not scary, just repelling, and it has little comic relief, save for the fact that Depp faints from time to time, when things go badly. Yes, the art direction is quite good and so is the cast, including Depp, Ricci (looking very lovely), Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Christopher Walken, Jeffery Jones, Lisa Marie and other talented players. Yet, even they can not rise above the film's dark themes and gory scenes, all of which leave the viewer feeling tremendously cheated out of a good tale. I do not feel it does justice to the original story and it certainly will not please any movie viewers looking for a rousing spine-tingler. The best advice I can give is, if you like the cast and/or Burton, go ahead and see what you think of the results. As for me, I am dreadfully sorry I watched the film, as its excesses are most depressing indeed.