The year is 1799, and Ichabod Crane is a New York police constable who has been dispatched to Sleepy Hollow: an upstate Dutch hamlet where there have been a lot of brutal murders involving people getting their heads chopped off. He is welcomed by the town elders, including the wealthy businessman Baltus Van Tassel who has a beautiful young daughter named Katrina, who immediately shows an interest in Ichabod. And vice versa. Once he starts his investigation, he hears the story about what the locals believe to be the cause of all the decapitations: the Headless Horseman, who was once a Hessian mercenary from the American Revolutionary War. Ichabod just scoffs of such superstitious nonsense, but his skepticism is put to the test over and over again as more people keeps dying.
Sleepy Hollow is a dark fantasy horror film from 1999, directed by Tim Burton and loosely based on the 1820’s short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It stars Johnny Depp in the role as Ichabod Crane, and Christina Ricci in the role as Katrina. Christopher Lee also has a supporting role here, as the Burgomaster, among some other well-known faces. The development of the movie started in 1993, where Kevin Yagher was originally set to direct the film as some kind of low-budget slasher horror film. There were some disagreements, causing Paramount to demote Yagher to prosthetic makeup designer instead, and Tim Burton was brought on board in 1998.
Originally, the character Ichabod Crane is described as a very unattractive man in the novel, and Johnny Depp offered to wear prosthetics on his face to carry on those appearance traits. Paramount didn’t want any of that, though (hmmm….I wonder why…) so the character is more based on Ichabod’s squeamishness and eccentricity, but turning him into a skeptic. A rather big contrast to the animated Disney film from 1949 where he’s kind of a dick, and superstitious to the core.
The relationship between Ichabod and Katrina is handled in a completely different way here, and the characters are given much more depth and backstory, and we are also getting the backstory of the headless horseman himself. Especially grim is the story of Ichabod’s childhood and his mother’s death, which gives us a very grisly scene involving an iron maiden. Speaking of grisly scenes, there’s actually a fair amount of them so I think they decided to keep a little bit of that slasher flair from the original idea. There’s bloody and visceral decapitation scenes, and one scene where the headless horseman decapitates the parents of a child hiding under the floorboards, where the kid makes eye contact with his dead mother’s head before meeting the same fate himself, is a particularly vicious scene.
Tim Burton also included some scenes which are homages to the animated Disney movie The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad from 1949. This includes the scene where Ichabod crosses the bridge and hears the frogs croaking his name, and the scene with the flaming pumpkin. There’s a mix of fairytale and gothic horror in a perfect balance, where the slumbering and spooky village of Sleepy Hollow consists of beautiful periodic sets with crooked, twisted trees and old buildings which is a mix of Northern European and American colonial architecture. And while most of the movie was filmed in Leavesden and Shepperton studios, they actually built the village at the Hambleden estate at Lime Tree Valley. Compared to the Disney movie which was very colorful, this one is bleak and misty and kicks up the gothic atmosphere to eleven, perfectly complemented by Danny Elfman’s score.
Sleepy Hollow is a fun gothic horror story that oozes Tim Burton from start to finish, and while very much removed from the original Irving classic, it’s an inventive and fun reimagined version of the story. It is peak Tim Burton, and a perfect Halloween watch!
Director: Tim Burton Writers: Kevin Yagher, Andrew Kevin Walker Country & year: UK/USA/Germany, 1999 Actors: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gough, Christopher Walken, Lisa Marie IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162661/
Here comes the sequel that people actually have wanted to see for too long. Meanwhile, we had some videogames, comics, the awesome animated series, and I envy those who were lucky enough to experience the Broadway musicals that became huge successes. So, it’s fair to say that Beetlejuice’s spot and impact on pop-culture seemed to be bigger than we’d even realized. The time and years also came and went while the sequel was announced several times during the mid 2000s until it became the boy who cried wolf. It became too good to be true, but to be honest: I would rather wait for twenty years than see Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, whatever that was supposed to be. But now, only 37 years later, the juice is finally loose.
But still, my biggest concern here was how in hell they were going to recreate the same magic, vibe and the distinct cartoonish tone from the original without missing the mark and the perfect balance completely. Because it could easily have become a catastrophic, tone-deaf cringefest that would shuffle right in the same footsteps as Son of the Mask, to give the worst example. The year is also 2024, where legacy sequels have been pretty bland and forgettable, with some few exceptions. And then we have our favorite goth uncle, Tim Burton, who hasn’t quite been himself in a long, long time. Life happens to all of us. But that was until he directed the first episodes of Wednesday, where we saw some of his mojo coming back. So there was hope. Then came the teasers and the trailers and we were sold.
So, what’s the Deetz family been up to during all these years? Lydia Deetz is still herself, now as a professional medium, not a big surprise there, and has her own Paranormal TV show which she hosts with a live audience and all. And no, she’s not married to Zak Bagans. She’s been dating her producer, Rory (Justin Theroux), this film’s version of the eccentric Otho (until he isn’t). Lydia also has a daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), and they don’t have the best relationship, since Astrid thinks her mother a complete whackjob and a fraud. It’s more complex than that, though. And, of course, she doesn’t believe in the supernatural at all. Her biological dad also died years ago and she can’t stand Rory.
Delia (Catherine O’Hara) is in Manhattan, New York, where she has an art exhibition. She’s still a redhead and a more borderline self-centered bitch than ever. But where’s Charles, Lydia’s dad, you ask? He is all by himself in the ghost house up on the hill, chilling the peaceful life, we have to assume. Wait, the phone is ringing. It’s Delia. Charles is dead, she says. Died during a plane crash. Oh… Time for an awkward little reunion in the small town of Winter River to arrange his funeral. And the old model still stands in the attic, Beetlejuice’s little loophole entry to the surface world.
Yes, there’s a lot of family drama going on, because there’s a lot to catch up to after almost four decades. But there’s no reason to worry – The showman himself, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), is just waiting for the right moment to join the reunion, and he has way more screentime than he had in the original, which was only 17 minutes. In the meantime, he’s kept himself busy with his Bio-Exorcist career, having a big open office space in the Neitherworld where he has a staff of Smallheads to do all the paper work.
Speaking of reunions: The Maitlands couple we saw in the original, played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, is long gone and not to be seen. We get the point and reason why: ghosts don’t age. They get a brief mention by Lydia, who gives her own logical explanation of their absence just to tie the films together fittingly. Davis looks fabulous for her age, by the way, while Baldwin has morphed into the bitter rageaholic that he is. Teddybear Otho, on the other hand, isn’t even mentioned. And that broke my heart a little. Especially considering that Glenn Shadix fell in his home and died tragically of blunt head trauma in 2010. RIP.
Anyway – Meanwhile, downstairs in the world of the dead, we get to see a pretty wild entry of the films secondary villain. And that’s none other than Beetlejuice’s ex-wife, Dolores (Monica Bellucci), a cute mix of Corpse Bride and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. And you’ll also get a clear picture of why she meant nothing to him, nothing at all, as referred in the first film. It’s also hard to not feel some sympathy for Mr. Juice when some historical pieces are being put together. Because he absolutely means something to her, and not in some positive way. We also have a vital love-interest sideplot with Astrid and the neighbor boy Jeremy (Arthur Conti) which takes some pretty interesting turns.
Lydia is still haunted by the memories of Beetlejuice, who once tried to force her to marry him. She’s kept all of this a secret from her extended family, but when she starts to see quick flashes of him lurking everywhere she goes, the can of worms starts to open. The plot starts to thicken when both Astrid and Rory find out about this Beetleguy, and it’s just a quick matter of time when one of them can’t resist the temptation to spit out his name three times.
And when the news came that Willem Dafoe had been added to the cast, I was pretty sure that he was going to play Jacques LaLean from the animated series. Instead, we meet Wolf Jackson, a former action star, who’s now living out his fantasies in the afterlife as a police officer in the Neitherword. And for some reason, he’s on the tail on both Beetlejuice and Dolores.
I was a little surprised how practical and old-school the film actually was, both when it came to the effects and especially the sets. Because the cynical side of me just assumed they would CGI/green screen the whole Winter River town and the ghost house itself, because that’s what Hollywood normally does these days. Instead, we also have a sweet nostalgia trip to the quiet little town of East Corinth, hidden somewhere in the forest countryside of Vermont. And the Neitherworld is a whole place by itself where we get to see more of with its crooked, narrow, colorful hallways and chess floors, a place you’d like to explore for yourself. Maybe some day.
Tim Burton’s zany imagination and inspiration is back in full force here. So is his energy, which makes Beetlejuice Beetlejuice feel way more of a passion project than just another sequel. I bet everyone had a blast making this, not to mention the make-up crew who had all the different types of dead people we see in the world downstairs to work with. Every aspect to the smallest details are done with such care, love and respect to the original, without overstuffing us with shallow member berries. We have some of those, of course, but they’re really tasty.
We also have some references from the old times, such as Beetlejuice’s backstory told in the stylish black & white style of Mario Bava, and get ready for the roller-coaster ride that is the Soul Train. It’s crazy, wild, chaotic, unpredictable and lots of fun. A big morbid cinematic Halloween candy bag with some even more unexpected surprises. The older fans who grew up with the original, and the animated series in the early 90s, will definitely feel the warm and fuzzy nostalgia bug.
Michael Keaton still nails every step and tone of the title character. He slips right into Beetlejuice and the iconic outfit as if it was 1988. The slapstick, the small tics and details with his bizarre mannerism, are still intact with the perfect balance without being too much. And after pushing 70, and blessed with some excellent genes, Keaton plays the role as if he was 41 with a body full of demons. All the co-actors do a solid job and I liked the more nuances in the family dynamic between Lydia and her stepmom Delia, which was very one-dimensional in the first film. The one I wish had more screentime was Dolores.
And to finally address the real boogeyman in the room, that is Jeffrey Jones, who played Lydia’s dad in the first film. Yeah, whatever happened to him. He’s a registered sex offender, if you didn’t already know, and hasn’t been doing anything acting related since 2014. And since this isn’t a Disney production, he is persona non grata. Still, Charles is in the movie, in some very bizarre, morbid and hilarious way. And he’s actually way more present than I expected. Also, what they did to his character without writing him off completely was pure genius, comedy gold, and I laughed every time when that poor fucker popped up on the screen.
The music here must also be mentioned, which is just fantastic. It’s classic Danny Elfman, and he really pours his ghoulish heart into every single note and detail. He gives a more thick and sinister tone to the classic opening theme, like he did with Batman Returns (1992). The opening credit sequence is another aspect, which, in all honesty, I didn’t expect until that old Geffen logo came and did its rotation on screen. I knew already then that we were in for a ride. So, by all means; please take notes and bring back the classic themesongs and opening credits again, because they rule.
The film earned back its budget already during the opening weekend, so there’s no reason for the Warner brothers to not say his name one last time with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. In the meantime, you can now bingewatch all four seasons of the animated series on Tubi.
Director: Tim Burton Writers: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Seth Grahame-Smith Country & year: USA, 2024 Actors: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, Nick Kellington, Santiago Cabrera, Burn Gorman, Danny DeVito IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2049403/
The year is 1799, and Ichabod Crane is a New York police constable who has been dispatched to Sleepy Hollow: an upstate Dutch hamlet where there have been a lot of brutal murders involving people getting their heads chopped off. He is welcomed by the town elders, including the wealthy businessman Baltus Van Tassel who has a beautiful young daughter named Katrina, who immediately shows an interest in Ichabod. And vice versa. Once he starts his investigation, he hears the story about what the locals believe to be the cause of all the decapitations: the Headless Horseman, who was once a Hessian mercenary from the American Revolutionary War. Ichabod just scoffs of such superstitious nonsense, but his skepticism is put to the test over and over again as more people keeps dying.
