Script Review: SLEEPY HOLLOW
            by Bert Ehrmann

   Over last weekend I was able to read the script to the upcoming movie SLEEPY HOLLOW. The movie is due in theaters this Thanksgiving and is being directed by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Deep and Christina Ricci.

Knowing that the movie was being directed by Tim Burton, I thought that the script would be dark and weird. Therefor, when I read this amazing script that featured all the elements from action, romance and mystery, I was very surprised that the script was so good.

The story follows Ichabod Crane, a young policeman from New York who relies on science to solve crimes. His ways don't go well with the 1799's religious idealism, so he is punished by his superiors. They send him to the small town of Sleepy Hollow to solve several murders that have recently occurred there. Ichabod soon learns that the town is being terrorized by the "Headless Horseman", a Soldier from the Revolutionary war who severed his own head rather than being captured by the Americans. The Horeseman has somehow returned from the dead to reclaim his head. Since he's unable to find his own head, the Headless Horseman decides to try other people's heads on for size. Ichabod must find a way to stop this riding corpse before he kills even more townspeople.

The overall script was very good. For the most part, I was enthralled by how well the script flowed. The story contains several "awesome" fight scenes with the Headless Horseman (one where the Horseman freezes the surface of a pond to walk across it) and one in a grain elevator that ends with a gigantic explosion.

The most striking point about the script was how modern it all seemed. In fact, most of the story reads like an episode of the X-Files set in the 1700's, without the ever-believing Mulder. Ichabod, much like Agent Scully, refuses to believe that the Headless Horseman is paranormal in any way. He relies on "science" to guide him in the search of his truth. For most of the story, the mystery remains on why the Headless Horseman targets his victims.

After reading this script, I'm now even more excited about seeing this movie. Hopefully the movie will be as good as the script was. 8/11/1999

Check out images from the SLEEPY HOLLOW trailer