Sleepy Hollow - ep 89

So many heads roll in “Sleepy Hollow,” Tim Burton’s gory, uber-Gothic blockbuster based on the classic Washington Irving story. This movie goes big with cartoonish spurts of blood, spinal stumps, a bombastic Danny Elfman score and an undead ax murderer in search of Christopher Walken’s head.

Travel all the way back to a time when an unusual Johnny Depp performance would be a box office asset and movie studios gave directors $100 million to make a Ye Olde Slasher Film. Ah, you gotta love the hubris of the late 90s.

The Old Millennials revisit “Sleepy Hollow” and debate the merits of Burton’s style-over-substance approach. The plot is unnecessarily knotty, but damn, look at all those decapitated heads! We talk about the strange Boys Club comprised of Emperor Palpatine, Uncle Dursley, Albus Dumbledore and Mr. Rooney from “Ferris Bueller,” as well as why Christina Ricci seems so uncomfortable as the romantic lead to Depp’s cowardly Icabod Crane. The Old Millennials also try to shake off the movie’s sole “scary” moment (those eyeballs through the floorboards) and discuss whether “Pirates of the Caribbean” director Gore Verbinski based his entire concept of Jack Sparrow around “Sleepy Hollow’s” climactic carriage chase.

Plus Tyler says the word “moody.” A lot.

Also discussed in this episode:

“Hubie Halloween” starring Adam Sandler (2020)
“The 40-Year-Old Version” from writer/director Radha Blank (2020)
“Kajillionaire” from writer/director Miranda July (2020)
“Moneyball” with Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill (2011)
Van Helsing (Vanessa!) TV series

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