Hey folks.... Man... I think I've just finished one of my best weeks of movie watching ever (MAN OF THE CENTURY, PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, AMERICAN MOVIE, JOAN OF ARC, PITCH BLACK, THE INSIDER, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and the University of Texas/University of Nebraska football game.) I'm exhausted... but... BUT... Man, this year the films just don't stop.... TOY STORY 2, GREEN MILE, MAGNOLIA and ... this one.... SLEEPY HOLLOW... I'm dying from joy here. Let's keep this ball rolling. Weeeee....
Hey Harry, Compukiller here. I just got back from a test screening of
SLEEPY HOLLOW, which was held here in New Jersey at the Loews Cineplex
14 in Wayne New Jersey on October 23. A great theater to visit if ever
in the area.
On to the movie...
Well, what can I say, other than that this is hands down the best
Horrror film of 1999, and one of the best of the decade. There really
hasnt been a true gothic horror film in awhile, but this damn sure fits
the bill. This film definetly rests in the higher ranks of Tim Burton's
films, and will most likely be his most financially success one in
awhile.
Since everyone knows the plot, I'll skip a description as well as any
spoilers, and tell you what I thought of the film.
The performances were all great. Johnny Depp hits every note perfectly
as Ichabod Crane. His accent is flawless, and his mannerisms are so well
executed, that halfway through you forget that you are seeing Johnny
Depp, much like his performances in ED WOOD, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, and
DONNIE BRASCO. Christina Ricci gives a good performance, although her
accent needed some work. Christopher Walken is at his most freakiest as
the Horseman (although he has no dialog). Also Micheal Gambon, Jeffrey
Jones, Micheal Gough, Ian McDiarmid and especially Miranda Richardson
are all very good in their roles. and I must commend Ray Park for
another dazzling stunt performance as the horseman.
The cinematography is first rate all the way. This film had a look and
feel that really gets under your skin. If Burton used any soundstages,
you really can't tell. Everything looks surreal, much like a nightmare.
(FYI, parts of this film were recently reshot in Morristown, N.J.)
Danny Elman's score is great, as expected. The special effects were also
very nifty, and luckily CGI was not over used. I don't know what the
general response will be, as the audience I saw it with responded very
well to the humorous parts (and there are many), but many seemed turned
off by the more violent content. In fact, I would even say that having
this much gore in a big budget film is definetly a risk. I felt it was
all appropriate, but I am a gore hound.
The one minor complaint I had about the film was the climax. The final
chase was classic, but it was preceded by the whole
villian-explain-everything-to-the-hero-before-the-actual-plan-is-carried-out-scene.
The way the many story elements come together was unexpected, and
geniunely intriging, but the manner in which it was all revealed seemed
a little cliched. Still, a great climax, and I honestly don't know
another way it could have been done.
Anyway, I wholeheartedly reccomend it to anyone looking for a great
horror film. Any punk-asses looking for a slasher flick with half naked
teens running around spouting pseudo-cool dialog that seems to pass for
horror nowadays, STAY THE FUCK HOME!!!!
Compukiller
P.S. Contrary to what the NRG guy said, the film looked complete in
everyway, except for final credits.
|
