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| Available at Amazon.com |
One of my favorite characters in the history of folklore and all that is Halloween is the Headless Horseman from the little town of Sleepy Hollow. I know the story quite well and could recite it verbatim to anyone who would inquire about it. The short and the skinny is that the Horseman used to be a vicious warrior that would ride around on a black horse and cut off the heads of his enemies. One day his enemies got the best of him and decapitated him so that he could not kill anymore. Little did they know that he would come back to life and ride through the countryside searching for a new head that fit him just right. Pretty scary if you ask me, but this film has virtually nothing to do with that story.
This story takes us back to the time of the Civil War when two soldiers stumble across a scarecrow that is in reality a man that was decapitated and strung up. The unlucky man who was now a headless frightener of birds was a brutal person that was going around town cutting the heads off of small children. The townspeople had caught up with him and gave him a taste of his own medicine, but their supposed good deed would backfire. Now every seven years, the headless horseman comes back to life and sets out to cut the heads off of seven kids so he can appease his evil soul.
Back in modern day times it is Halloween night and seven (gasp!) kids are on their way to a big party when they have some car issues on a back road. Looking for help, they travel down an old road and stumble across the small town of Wormwood that is gearing up for their annual “Headless Horseman Festival.” Good times, eh? Not so much as the townspeople were all ready to sacrifice seven of their own kids, but have now been given the gift of seven strangers that will do just fine. Now it is up to the kids to get out of Dodge, err…Wormwood before they receive a close shave.
Well, for starters I am not a big fan of taking the legend of the Headless Horseman and changing it just so you can get another film out of it. Come on now. There has already been Sleepy Hollow, Disney’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Hollow (ugh!), and a host of others that at least stay along the same lines as the original tale by Washington Irving. Why go changing it when it is more then adequate and if done right, you can surely get another good film out of it? That just bugs me.
On a lighter note, Headless Horseman really isn’t all that awful. It is a strange combination of the original tale and a horrible film called Beneath Still Waters, but I honestly doubt that is where they went for inspiration. As a Sci-Fi original, you’re not going to get too much in the way of foul language or gratuitous nudity, but there sure as hell is a lot of blood and gore which makes up for the lamer parts of the film. It is rather predictable and quite stupid, but it is mindless fun that could make for an OK filmfest around October.
The film is shown in 1.66:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and it looks decent enough for a made for TV flick. Some of the colors are a bit dull and seem a tad drab at times, but everything can be seen clear enough.
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and it does just fine except that some of the music is just overly loud and gets quite annoying at times.
Trailers – Day Of The Dead, Senior Skip Day: Unrated, Mega Snake, and Black Ops
Believe me when I say that there are far better choices to pick from when you’re looking for A.) A film about Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horseman; B.) A horror film to scare you; or C.) Any film that would care to watch on any other topic or with any other actors ever. But that doesn’t mean you should never check out Headless Horseman because it may just find its way into your cult classic heart much like He Knows You’re Alone (starring Tom Hanks in his first role) did back in college when I stumbled across it one fall night in 1998. It has a few moments that are remotely entertaining and even has plenty of blood to go all around. I say go with the rental here though because not having any special features doesn’t merit a purchase. Just be careful when you go out for the rental; especially if it is a dark and spooky night. And always remember…once you cross that bridge my friends, the ghost is gone, his power ends.
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First Look Pictures presents Headless Horseman. Directed by: Anthony C. Ferrante. Starring: Billy Aaron Brown, Rebecca Mozo, Arianne Fraser, M. Steven Felty, Trish Coren, Elizabeth Prestel, Brent Lydic, Joe Hartzler, Richard Moll. Written by: Zachary Weintraub & Anthony C. Ferrante. Running time: 94 minutes. Rating: R. Released on DVD: April 29, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
About Danny Cox
