Can you believe that it’s been almost 23 years since Tim Burton released his version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? A lot of us were in very different places at that point and might be able to agree that the movie was filled with as much dark humor as horror at that time. But it was a Tim Burton project, so one had to expect that it would be a bit off the wall, not to mention filled with quirks. The fact is that it was a fun movie though, since Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, as well as the rest of the cast, did a great job when it came to giving the audience something to enjoy as the story rolled along. To be fair, it was a good movie at the time and it’s held up fairly well over the years. But now that it’s been a couple of decades it would appear that it’s time for a reboot. The ideas that might come to whoever is writing the script are bound to be plentiful, but the fact is that while there is wiggle room with some elements, some might state that it’s not necessary.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is an old tale and one that has managed to be done up in a few different ways to show to the audience. Tim Burton took the story and pushed it to certain limits that felt a bit goofy at times but came together throughout the movie and were kind of interesting. Taking the lead on this reboot will be Lindsey Beer, who’s been tearing it up with her writing in recent years and appears to be the person that some folks are hanging their hopes on at the moment as she’s taken on a few big-name projects. It’s even anticipated that her attempt at the Pet Sematary prequel will be out later this year, so that’s something to look for.
As to the retelling of such a classic tale, it’s fair to think that this legendary story will find another way to shine under Beer since each new writer brings a different perspective to each story they write, which means a new way to look at something that we’ve seen dozens of times. It is very true that some perspectives and thus tales haven’t been all that great since some folks can take a story and twist it up in ways that are hard to deal with and extremely tough to understand. But putting faith in Beer at this time isn’t too tough after seeing what she’s already done and thinking that she might be the right person for the job. There are certain elements to Sleepy Hollow that need to remain more or less the same since Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman have been the two mainstays that need to be kept in place. But to be fair, there are different ways to represent them, though the initial idea that the Horseman is a dangerous, evil, vengeful spirit is usually the most popular since trying to make this character a sympathetic monster feels as though it makes about as much sense as mistaking a hungry wolf for a cute and cuddly puppy.
In other words, the Horseman and Crane need to occupy the roles they do, but as the show that aired back in the 2010s showed, things aren’t always what they appear to be at any given moment. One thing that should remain the same however is that Crane and the Horseman are somehow linked, no matter that neither might know of each other’s existence before they meet. Tim Burton’s version did get a little dark since not only did he dive right into the beheadings that dominated a good portion of the movie, but he made it clear that, like always, women and children are not immune to being drawn into the horror. Some folks might want to say ‘duh’ to this, but the general feeling among many people is that when a horror movie is playing and there are innocents in the killer’s sight, someone should come to save them at the last second. This is one of the many movies that take that point and dashes it to the ground.
Whatever Beer is going to do with Sleep Hollow, one of the biggest hopes is that she’ll treat it with the kind of respect that the tale deserves, since as one of the more beloved legends created for the entertainment of others, this is one that carries its own weight. All a person can do is wait and see what happens, but it’s easy to think that whatever happens, we’ll be given another great story to enjoy for a couple of hours. To be honest, that’s all we can ask.
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