There is something about a headless horseman clad in black and holding a carved jack-o-lantern that fires up the imagination. Although it is a far cry from Washington Irving’s original story, the new television show on Fox called Sleepy Hollow is a surprisingly fun and frightful bit of entertainment. Ichabod Crane is played impeccably by Tom Mison as a man pulled into our current century by a powerful bond with the Hessian headless horseman. Lt. Abbie Mills, the only person willing to believe Ichabod’s crazy story, is played by Nicole Beharie. What begins with a simple headless horseman chopping off heads in the deep of night, soon expands into a machine gun wielding headless horseman after his own skull, secret covens of witches (both good and bad), George Washington’s Bible and the four horseman of the apocalypse. It seems that an ancient and horrific demon is behind it all.
When I first heard of a new television show taking on the Sleepy Hollow story, I thought it could be interesting but could just as easily be boring. Sleepy Hollow is certainly not boring, I love the fact that they decided to just throw everything they could think of at this tale and go as crazy as all get out. It also helps that they never take things too seriously. It is a shame that the show is on hiatus until November 4. This is the type of show that would be perfect to watch this Halloween season.
I would be remiss in not mentioning the Tim Burton film by the same name. If you are a fan of Irving’s headless horseman and of Hammer Films in particular, you would enjoy the movie. With a tag line of “Heads Will Roll”, you know what you’re getting into. The score by Danny Elfman is particularly evocative.
Brandon Jimison 