It's expected that Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow" would have more in common with his own animation "The Nightmare Before Christmas" than with Disney's cartoon of the Washington Irving ghost story. It's admirable that the filmmaker takes a new, personal approach to well-worn material, but, unfortunately, it's the variations the director chooses on the road less traveled, the more macabre, that ultimately sever the movie's lifeline.
The cast earnestly attempts to invigorate the American horror story. Johnny Depp stars as the legendary Ichabod Crane, the eccentric constable sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of murders reportedly committed by a headless horseman. As the cynical, bumbling detective, Depp is constantly amusing and, in typical Tim Burton fashion (Depp also starred in "Edward Scissorhands"), he's always a little off-center. He's also a bit miscast in the role, never seeming to inhabit as much as impersonate the meek, yet undaunted Crane.
He's matched by Christina Ricci, miscast as the fetching Katrina Van Tassel, daughter of one of the wealthier aristocrats in Sleepy Hollow. Expanding upon the original story, Burton has Crane and Van Tussel, along with a sprightly sidekick named Masbath (Marc Pickering), attempting to figure out whom or what is responsible for the decapitations. The trio eventually discovers that the spirit of the dead horseman is probably connected to one of the townspeople who has been methodically planning the brutal slayings.
The ultimate unraveling of this supernatural mystery, as well as the unconvincing relationship between Depp and Ricci, neither thrills nor provokes. The story, which involves many of the film's suspicious-looking elders and one or two menacing witches, is not a marked improvement upon the original tale. The finale, another drastic departure, has its moments, but like much of the film, it's more bloody than satisfying.
Where the film succeeds is in its meticulous, lavish visual design. The details are all right for the movie's 1799 setting, and everything from the eerie graveyard to the ominous forest and dilapidated township casts an impressive, otherworldly shadow. As with all Burton projects, including "Beetlejuice," "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" and "Ed Wood," it's a consistently dependable character. Even the bloodshed (and there's lots of it here) spills out in rich, quirky, crimson tones.
Burton piles on the artistic gore for this rendition. He just forgets to add the terror. No one who's seen the Disney cartoon has suffered years of bad dreams because of it. But even the kids' cartoon had a certain palpable dread, which is missing here. This version of "Sleepy Hollow" is all fantastically realized surface gloss. No matter how terrifying the visuals, there isn't enough of an involving story or characters to care or be scared.
Audiences will react to many of the film's visceral sequences. But that's not always a good thing -- especially when the head and appendage count tends toward the overkill zone. Like it or not, Tim Burton and company have created what is finally a great-looking, fairly sedate gorefest. It's sometimes exciting, mostly sleepy and almost all hollow.
*MPAA rating: R, for graphic horror violence and gore, and for a scene of sexuality.
'Sleepy Hollow'
Johnny Depp: Ichabod Crane
Christina Ricci: Katrina Van Tassel
Lisa Marie: Lady Crane
Casper Van Dien: Brom Van Brunt
Miranda Richardson: Lady Van Tassel
A Paramount presentation. Director Tim Burton. Screenplay Andrew Kevin Walker. Story Washington Irving. Producer Scott Rudin. Director of Photography Emmanuel Lubezki. Editor Chris Lebenzon. Music Danny Elfman. Production Designer Rick Heinrichs. Art Directors Les Tomkins and John Dexter. Set Designer Peter Young. Costume Designer Colleen Atwood. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.