screen story by kevin yagher and andrew kevin
walker .
screenplay by andrew kevin walker .
inspired by the short story the legend of sleepy hollow by washington irving .
directed by tim burton .
starring johnny depp , christina ricci , and casper van dien .
special appearances by christopher lee and christopher walken .
synopsis : investigator ichabod crane journeys to
1799 sleepy hollow to investigate a series of murders involving decapitation .
townspeople believe the spirit of a dead german mercenary is threatening them .
cute blonde katrina and a listless orphan help crane solve the mystery .
comments : tim burton has directed a number of entertaining and groundbreaking films over the years .
batman , of course , is perhaps his best - known film and led to a string of less successful sequels .
he 's done biographical work ( on the director ed wood ) , children 's movies ( nightmare before christmas ) , and a homage to alien invasion movies ( mars attacks ! ) .
sleepy hollow , his newest feature which fans have been anticipating for a while , shares the similar dark and atmospheric style of his earlier work and counts among his better movies .
sleepy hollow quite obviously draws its inspiration from the old period horror films of the 1950s and 1960s , especially hammer studios ' reworkings of dracula and frankenstein , and american international 's series of movies based on the works of edgar allan poe .
christopher lee , in fact , star of many hammer productions over the years , appears at the beginning of sleepy hollow as a judge who sends ichabod crane out to investigate the murders .
the movie also borrows from the universal monster movies of the 1930s .
one of the climatic scenes involves a windmill and obviously takes its cue from frankenstein .
i mention these allusions for a reason .
seasoned horror film fans , including myself , will smile at their inclusion in this film .
with the recent disappointments in theatrically released horror movies , especially the blair witch project ( the most overblown turkey of the decade ) , we needed a film like this .
not only does it have a sense of history , but burton 's skillful use of setting and mood make this an entertaining exercise in horror .
the film 's eerie landscapes and foggy towns , indeed , overshadow the actors and the plot as the most noteworthy aspect of the movie .
johnny depp , a veteran tim burton actor who has appeared both in ed wood and edward scissorhands , plays ichabod crane , who has apparently changed occupations from irving 's original story and is now an investigator .
depp is adequate in his role .
no more ; no less .
equally adequate is christina ricci , who plays the love interest in the film .
she 's a good witch too .
how cute .
one of the few weak parts of sleepy hollow is the wooden and cliched dialogue between the main characters .
the two actors , however , carry the movie well enough , but the supporting cast is what makes this movie shine .
veteran actors such as jeffrey jones and michael gough ( who played the butler alfred in all four recent batman flicks ) are terrific
as the aging townsfolk involved in the conspiracy which depp uncovers . while i do not wish to reveal crucial plot points , i can say that the storyline becomes quite confusing .
you have to pay attention .
andrew kevin walker wrote the screenplay .
he 's the one who also wrote 8 mm and seven .
walker is quickly becoming one of the premiere suspense writers in hollywood , and sleepy hollow
certainly does n't hurt his growing reputation .
as one might imagine from a gentleman like walker , sleepy hollow is quite graphic .
there 's a lot of blood and a lot of beheadings .
this is definately not a flick to take the young kids to .
a lady in front of us took her two young sons to see it and spent about 25 - 30 minutes covering the youngest 's eyes with her hand .
he was obviously upset by the movie 's intense violence .
if you 're looking for a good scare , however , sleepy hollow is definately recommended .
the supporting cast is what makes this movie shine equally adequate entertaining exercise in horror we needed a film like this certainly does n't hurt his growing reputation is definately recommended adequate in his role counts among his better movies carry the movie well enough skillful use terrific