A Fun and Visually Fantastic Homage to Hammer

Rating: 8/10 (8 November 2001)

Written around the time of the film's release in Philadelphia, PA, my senior year of high school.
About two weeks before Tim Burton's latest film, Sleepy Hollow, was released, my friend, Dan (SJP '99), informed me that he had four free passes to a sneak preview and asked if I'd like to go. Having greatly anticipated this film since I had heard rumors of it almost a year before I had no trouble deciding whether or not I wanted to go. So one Thursday night, a week before its actual release, I sat in the theater and enjoyed the cinematic feast that was set before my eyes.
Sleepy Hollow is very loosely based on the Washington Irving short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Instead of being a meek and somewhat dim school teacher, Ichabod Crane is now a wimpy constable from New York City, sent to the small town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of beheadings. The story itself is more complex, offering us insight into the history of the infamous Headless Horseman, introducing new characters, and incorporating a mystery involving scandal and witchcraft. Despite it being so far fetched from the original masterwork, however, I still managed to enjoy the story for what it was rather than focusing on the changes made.
As one would expect from a Tim Burton film, the visuals are astoundingly rich with fantastic detail and from the "painted" backdrops to the windmill scene nearing the end of the film, one can clearly see how he tried to model his film after the famous Hammer horror films of the 60s and 70s. Hammer Studios, a company based in Great Britain, was known for making horror films rich in artistic detail and mostly excellent performances (such as The Horror of Dracula and The Vampire Lovers). They were not, however, acknowledged for finely wrought plots, satisfying character development, and brilliant scripts. Burton succeeds in paying homage to Hammer in these aspects as well, though not, surprisingly, to negative effect.
Upon seeing previews for Sleepy Hollow, one would reasonably assumed that it is a very serious horror film, but in actuality it is almost completely tongue-in cheek and has a wonderfully dark sense of humor. Adding to this somewhat campy effect is the apparent glee Burton took in beheading the film's characters. As the tagline goes, heads certainly do roll and there is plenty of excessive gore to show it. It is all in good fun, though, as the blood is sometimes so ridiculously unnecessary that it can hardly be taken seriously (which was certainly the director's intended effect). It seemed that the dialogue was, at times, purposefully over-dramatic, and probably with the same reasoning in mind.
The performances fit right in with the rest of the film, which is not to say that they were bad. Johnny Depp, as the uptight, "man of reason" version of Ichabod, gives another excellent performance, as do the rest of the case (including Burton veterans Jeffrey Jones, as the town minister, and Christopher Walken, as, in a brilliant bit of casting, the Headless Horseman). Christina Ricci, in her role as love interest, Katrina Van Tassel, seems to stand out as part of Burton's cinematic nod to the Hammer Horror company. In those films, they would often employ beautiful, blonde women to act as the female leads. The only problem with them was that they were usually Swedish or, in one case, Polish, and had to learn a British accent for the film they were in, thus explaining their less than flawless British voices. Hopefully, this is a good explanation for why Ms. Ricci's accent got progressively better throughout the course of the film. On an extra note, the great Hammer staple, Christopher Lee, appears in a cameo as the judge that sends Ichabod to Sleepy Hollow.
Overall, the only two disappointments in the film were the score and the lack of character development. The score itself was fine and suited the film well, but having heard what Danny Elfman is capable of (just listen to his scores for Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands), it seemed very generic. Every once and a while you do hear some bizarre moments of tense strings suited perfectly to the film's off-beat tone, but they are few and far between. In terms of character development, Ichabod is the focus of the film from beginning to end, and since action is such a key element to the film, there is little time for anyone else to make an impression.
Tim Burton's latest work is certainly a masterpiece in terms of visuals and entertainment value, and its dream-like tone, filled with the brilliant Gothic imagery we have all come to expect does not disappoint.