We look back at Tim Burton’s 1999 goth mystery, “SLEEPY HOLLOW” on the film's 25th anniversary. What made the film so special? Why does it still resonate with audiences 25 years later? And why didn’t we get more fight scenes with Christopher Walken being a badass? This and more will be dived into head first as we visit the town of Sleepy Hollow and a young detective named Ichabod.

HEADS WILL ROLL…

1999 was the year that we were supposed to party like never before. It was the beginning of the end, if you will, of the decade known as the 90s and we were about to enter the “new millennium” but before that could happen, a director known for his weird, dark, and hauntingly beautiful work, had a film to show the world and make everyone remember to “watch their heads”. Tim Burton was back to his old goth godfather-type ways when he gave us “Sleepy Hollow”. All the usual suspects were cast in the film. You had Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, Christina Ricci as Katrina Van Tassel (The love interest/suspect), Christopher Walken as “The Headless Horseman”, Lisa Marie as Lady Crane (Who was dating Burton at the time) and supported by a slew of classic Hammer Horror greats like Sir Christopher Lee and Michael Gough, plus a soundtrack by the one and only Danny Elfman. It was a Burton fan wet dream of a cast and story yet Burton wasn’t going to give fans what they already knew and loved about “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow.” He has always been a director who does things his way and in 1999, he did just that with “Sleepy Hollow.”

Any Disney kid worth their “Mickey Ears” knows the Disney version of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1949), which was an adaptation of the short story by Washington Irving, has Ichabod Crane as a school teacher. He has to go to the town of Sleepy Hollow to be the new teacher but runs afoul of the local boogeyman, a “headless horseman” and you know the rest. Burton didn’t want to regurgitate what Disney did in his style and call it a day. That would have been the easy route, Tim Burton couldn’t do that to this classic tale and fans around the world would thank him after the film premiered on November 19th 1999.

BURTON’S LOVE LETTER TO HORROR OF THE 60s AND 70s

Burton, being a huge Mario Bava and Hammer Horror fan, made “Sleepy Hollow” his love letter to both the director and studio. Burton, along with writer, Andrew Kevin Walker, changed the story of Ichabod Crane from a teacher to a detective/skeptic thus rewriting the film into a mystery movie with supernatural elements. This would mirror many of Bava’s films of the 60s and 70s on top of looking like a film Hammer Studios would have put out around the same time with the film’s gothic sets and grand locations. It is truly amazing how the crew was able to build the town of Sleepy Hollow for the shoot and the sets be fully complete, inside and out. Yep, they built full houses for this flick. Upstairs, cellars, and attics all were built from the ground up. Some of the interiors on this film look like they are straight out of an early Christian Deth album. The set designer, Rick Heinrichs, who has worked with Tim Burton for years prior and since “Sleepy Hollow”, took so much inspiration from Hammer films and even created many of the miniatures used in the film like the huge windmill towards the end of the movie.

Burton also paid respect to Hammer Studios by casting many of its alumni actors, some coming out of retirement just for this film. Getting these legendary actors to sign on to a newer film is a very impressive feat as many of the British actors used in this film were retired by a few years already.

We truly feel that if the sets and locations didn’t wow you, the acting, as we briefly talked about, for sure did. Johnny Depp plays an amazing version of Ichabod Crane. Silly and sometimes aloof to the big picture, Ichabod is a man of science and won’t let rumors of a supposed “ghost” stop him from finding out who’s truly behind the constant deaths/murders happening in the town of Sleepy Hollow. Depp is stuffy and sophisticated in such a manner that you can’t help but giggle when he tries to be serious and put his foot down. With so many Hammer Horror alumni around, we’re sure Depp took a few pointers from these classically trained colleagues.

We’re a bit biased when it comes to Christina Ricci. She’s had our hearts since she was Wednesday Addams and her portrayal of Katrina Van Tassell truly made us fall in love with her all over again. Sure she’s a witch but lordy is she a mighty fine witch. We admit that Ricci’s English accent comes in and out almost as bad as Keanu Reeves did in “Bram Stoker’s DRACULA” but she saved herself some points with her drop-dead gorgeous look (we told you we were biased, hush). It’s famously known that Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci had known each other for years by the time that “Sleepy Hollow” was filming and they both found it a bit awkward they had to play each other’s love interests. You couldn’t really tell this was the case by watching the film as both played their characters amazingly well.

The main man of the whole show, “The Headless Horseman” was of course played by none other than that cowbell lovin, son of a Hessian, Christopher Walken. Dude looked fierce in this flick. He had the classic “don’t fuck wit me” slicked hair, and those “I’m gonna chomp on dat ass” teeth, plus those “Icy blue pools of winter wonderland” eyes made for a villain you just knew was gonna cut some fools apart. We can’t forget his epic horse buddy, Daredevil, who looked beastly as all hell. We knew Walken was a straight gangster but man, he was vicious in “Sleepy Hollow.” Walken doesn’t utter one single word in this flick as the horseman. Not one. Sure he shushes some kids for being too damn loud in the forest (lousy brats) but dude is mute for the whole flick. He doesn’t even give out a “yee haw” or “giddy up” when he takes his unwilling, and very bloody bride, back to the underworld at the end of the flick.

We feel that Walken should have gotten more screen time as the horseman. He is literally on screen for maybe less than 10 minutes but is so impactful and important that it makes the whole film come together perfectly. Doing a bit of research on the film, we found that Ray Park (Darth Maul in STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE) did all the physical stunts for Walken’s horseman. That makes total sense because those moves that the headless horseman pulls, with those swords, and style…impressive, most impressive. All in all, there are 18 deaths in “Sleepy Hollow” and we enjoyed every single one of them. They’re bloody, over-the-top and exciting to see happen on screen. Come on, you know you were rooting for the horseman to run down these corrupt townsfolk when you watched it.

Each character, whether major or minor truly sucks the viewer into the film’s period and macabre setting. If watching on a dark night, we guarantee you this film will give you a shiver down your spine when you first see the headless horseman make his descent on his next victim. There are many humourous moments in “Sleepy Hollow” as well that bring levity to a serious matter and Tim Burton has always done well at blending the sad with the happy. From the first three minutes of the film, you know already you’re going to be in for one hell of a ghost story.

CHECK OUT THE ORIGINAL TRAILER FOR SLEEPY HOLLOW BELOW

WHY WE STILL LOVE SLEEPY HOLLOW 25yrs LATER

With the success at the worldwide box office being over $207 million, “Sleepy Hollow” was a certified hit for Tim Burton and Paramount. It made Johnny Depp an even bigger star and more “goth daddy” vibes were bestowed upon him than when he played Edward Scissorhands. “Sleepy Hollow” went on to be nominated for a few Academy Awards and took home a few as well, most notably for “Best Art Direction”. The film also brought to light that a beloved children’s tale, when done right, can be creepy, scary, downright ghastly as well as light-hearted, and whimsical, so much so that it is watched and beloved by millions today. This is the Sleepy Hollow modern-day kids will remember.

We would be remiss to not mention the haunting dark yet romantic score that Danny Elfman provided for “Sleepy Hollow”. The film truly uses Elfman’s score as a road map to discovering the truth behind the murders taking place. With huge choirs and orchastrartion, we listen to the films soundtrack at least a few times a year. We truly enjoy our WaxWork Records copy of the score as it is pressed on “Headless Horseman” splatter vinyl. Something about the needle hitting the wax just makes the score sound that much more grim and emotional.

This curvy tree, dark path on a cold night, hair-raising chill of a film has lasted the test of time and we think will go down as the definitive version for this classic Americana tale. We know many people who view this film every fall or Halloween. It’s a tradition we have fallen into over the years and now have seen this film to many times to even try and count.

We can say that there is something special about Tim Burton’s “SLEEPY HOLLOW". It’s a film that will have you biting your nails one minute and chuckling the next. It grabs you by the collar and warns you to be aware of who you wrong in this world and that sometimes hell comes back to collect on what it is due. The film sticks with you after watching it. The performances are so grand and eloquent it feels as tho many actors are not acting at all. It truly is a film that makes you love film. At least it does for us.

“Sleepy Hollow” can be streamed via Paramount+ and a new 4k UHD 25th Anniversary Steelbook is available now on Amazon found HERE.

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Nov 4, 2020

Samuel Santiago

Nov 4, 2020

Sam has been writing Horror news, reviews, and handling event coverage for over 10yrs in Southern California. Well versed in movies as well as music knowledge Sam watches over the world that is MACABRE DAILY and makes sure its just spooky enough for everyone's liking...especially his.