Watched Sleepy Hollow (1999) by an author from letterboxd.com
New York detective Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of mysterious deaths in which the victims are found beheaded. But the locals believe the culprit to be none other than the ghost of the legendary Headless Horseman.

I guess if you don’t like the Depp/Burton/Elfman triumvirate there’s no way you’ll like this. But I think this is worth the watch for the visual effects, makeup and stunt work alone.

The headless horseman is superbly realised. A villain almost as formidable and implacable as the Terminator that, despite the lack of facial expression, still manages to have a playful and cheeky demeanour.

The central plot is fun, though it does rely heavily on a fountain of exposition in the third act to bring it together. Some of the performers are a bit wooden and the accents are ALL over the place but there’s at least Michael Gambon to enjoy.

Finally, a word on “horror”. There’s more threat and gore in this than I find in most recent horror movies pitched at teens. It deserves a little more respect in that regard.

★★★★

My review

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