Sleepy hollow is not for people with weak stomachs or people that are against Johnny Depp. There is a lot of blood and murder. Christopher Walken plays the headless horseman. It’s a good movie with an odd ending. The more you watch the more you wonder why the horseman is attacking the village. Depps character has repeated flash backs of his mom which died in a iron maiden for some reason.
Sleepy Hollow
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
There are lots of slasher movies better than this.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 16–18
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Sleepy Hollow was written by Nell Minow
Parents need to know that this is a very, very gory movie, with many headless corpses, lots of spurting blood, heads being sliced off and bouncing to the ground, various other murders, a couple of "boo!"-type scares, and of course characters perpetually in peril. The heads all show up eventually, too. There is a brief but non-explicit scene of a couple having sex, several very gross moments, and a scene of torture in an Iron Maiden.
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More on Sleepy Hollow
What’s the Story?
Johnny Depp plays the honorable but easily frightened Ichabod Crane, in this version not a schoolteacher but a sort of 18th century detective, committed to the use of science and logic. He is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of murders attributed to the Headless Horseman, the ghost of a bloodthirsty Hessian soldier, who steals the heads of his victims because his own was stolen from his grave. Crane insists that the murderer cannot be supernatural, until he sees it himself. Still, he analyzes the evidence to find the secrets that link the victims together and the human force driving the Headless Horseman.
Is It Any Good?
SLEEPY HOLLOW is less the Washington Irving story than it is Scream set in post-revolutionary times. The themes of science vs. supernatural and appearance vs. reality appear throughout the movie, as Crane must understand his own past in order to see the truth. He describes himself as "imprisoned by a chain of reasoning." He keeps coming back to a toy given to him by his mother, a spinning disk with a bird on one side and a cage on the other. As it spins, the bird appears to be inside the cage, an optical illusion, and, not by coincidence, the very illusion (persistence of vision) that makes viewers think that the people in the thousands of still pictures that make up a movie are really moving.
Depp plays Crane with the right haunted look and rigid posture. But the ludicrousness of some of the plot turns and the exaggerated fright reactions leave him with the most outrageous eye-rolling since Harvey Korman's imitation of a silent film star. Indeed, the movie frequently brings to mind those sublime "Carol Burnett Show" movie parodies, especially when the villain ultimately finds time for a detailed confession as the planned final victim is waiting for the Headless Horseman to arrive. The wonderful Christina Ricci is wasted in an ingenue part.
Movie Details
Studio: Paramount Pictures, Director: Tim Burton
Run time: 105 minutes
Theatrical release: 11/18/1999
MPAA Rating: R for extreme violence and scariness
Run time: 105 minutes
Theatrical release: 11/18/1999
MPAA Rating: R for extreme violence and scariness
Our Members Say
See all 22 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 15 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
what i give it
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I rate this title iffy for age 14 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
off with its head!
very violent,bloody,and scary.
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I rate this title on for age 14 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
I don't get this site. It pans some of my favorite movies... Whatever. You know what's weird? I scrolled through the members' reviews, and most of them gave the movie 4 or 5 stars, while "common sense" says that "there are lot of slasher movies better than this," and gives it two stars. You know what? I'm calling bull. How can you dismiss this as just a slasher film? This is more of a murder mystery! Are you just against the movie because of the gore? But you know, whatever floats your boat. Enough against the faceless people that run this site who will most likely never read this review. I believe this this was an awesome movie, my family and I see it every Halloween. If you like Tim Burton, watch this. If you like Johnny Depp, watch this. If you like horror movies, watch this. I'm not saying that this is my favorite movie, but it is very good. And I don't just like it because I'm a Tim Burton fan. This movie has a great atmosphere, you really feel a sense of foreboding throughout. Plus, after seeing it a couple times, you really pick up on some extra things going on in the background. And maybe it's because I'm terrible at foretelling the outcome of movies, but I was caught by surprise by the ending. Any horror and mystery fan will love this!
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I rate this title on for age 16 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Good horror movie for older teens
The only thing to be concerned about is the violence, and it wasn't nearly as gory as I thought it was going to be. There are decapitations, and they show the silhouette of one man as he is sliced in half, but other than that there really isn't anything that made it over-the-top gruesome. There's a brief scene where an unmarried couple is having intercourse, but nothing's shown.
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
Bad Title Maker
Nothing really to constitute an R rating except for the gore. Very bloody movie indeed, but it's all in the name of the movie.
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
bloody, but good
love jhonny depp? love tim burton? love gore (kind of)? this is an awesome movie. i love jhonny depp!! hes so cute. and hes hilarious in this movie. pretty bloody. my second rated r movie (ive seen 3 now, though) . if you dont mind blood, heads rolling around, and gore (or like, in some demented people's ways) then this is a good movie. i enjoyed it. some things that disturebed me though: when the dad gets the sharp thing through his body and theres bloody all over. when the kid is hiding under the floor and then dies. the iron maiden thing. the witch.and when the headsare in the tree. it was funny when christopher walker (who i might say is vey scary in this with sharp teeth and such) kisses the evil mom and then theres like blood. horror with humor!
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
He he he he he he he!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I found this movie absoloutley hilarious and the balance between comedy and horror was perfect. I couldn't stop laughing when the head rolled down the hill.
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I rate this title off for age 14 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Amazing Film Shows What Tim Burton is Capable Of Doing!!!
This movie was another amazing story told from the depths of fantasy man Tim Burton's brain. And top it off... it had Johnny Depp, who is the best actor in the world! This was an amazing adaptation of the Headless Horseman and it was very gory too! But even though this movie was as great fantasy film it is not acceptable to let young kids see this. It has over the top violence! The only violence is people getting their heads chopped off but in just that, there are graphic depictions of blood squirting out of people's heads people heads shown be sawed off. All in all though this is an amazing movie. If you've seen Sweeney Todd and Edward Scissorhands... you'll love this movie!!! Two Thumbs Way Up!!!
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I rate this title pause for age 13 and give it
Awesome!
Ok just let me start of by saying that i am 12 and just clicked on the wrong thing. There is only one word to describe this movie and that is, bloody. Personally i loved this movie and thought it was amazing. Sorry to kids but i probably should have waited a bit, even though, to parents. There really is not that much blood, any sex or crud like that is off screen or very discreet. The blood is quite fake, whenever someone gets their head chopped off then you can really tell its quite fake. As far as i can see there were only two parts in this movie that somewhat grossed me out. This was when you see his mother suspected of witch craft after being put in a torture device which he opened by accident as a child you see blood pouring out. There was also the tree of the dead where blood gets all over ichabods face and he pulls away the branches revealing several decapitated bloody heads which cover the entrance to the horseman's lair. If anything you should AT LEAST be 14 and well educated and have done research on what to suspect, it can be alright for 12 year old's and 13 year old's in cases.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
I kind of well, well, well, SCREAMED LIKE A GIRL!!!!!!!!!
I really thought this movie was a little confusing. If you can't take blood, gore, freaky images, and peril its a good idea not to see it on the other half if you can take them and you like horror movies you may hate or love this movie. If you're kid's do see this movie, They might have nightmares. So, if you think this might work talk to you're kids about the unreal supernatural, why they liked it, and if they thought it was scary talk to them about why they thought it was scary, and if their still scared read a funny book and/or, watch a funny movie, and/or play a board game.
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
a bit gory but still good
The review says that it is very very gory but it didn't seem all that bad to me, of course this could be different for other people my age. Overall, I enjoyed it
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I rate this title pause for age 17 and give it
Decent Scary Movie
If you like scary movies you will like this. If you do not LIKE horror movies, don't waste your time.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Tim Burton is my HERO!
Ok, i am 11. This movie was great. Nooooo, don't think that i am one of those kids who watch R rated movies all the time, becuse i NOT! My parents don't even let me watch a PG-13 movie! Well, this movie was good, but the only problem i had was that Johnny Depp was over doing his role. And itwas some what hard to understand what they were saying sometimes. I would'nt have chosen thi movie off the shelf if i wasn't such a big tim burton fan, but now i know that thiis movie was GREAT!!!! and Dany Elfman does a great job w/ the music, and the settings are great!
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
If you can get past the gory parts, Sleepy Hollow is actually a pretty good movie. It's basically an 18th century detective story centered around the headless horseman. I would recommend it if you like Johnny Depp and/or Phantom of the Opera.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
More brilliant Tim Burton!!!
Very gory not scary! If an adult says that it will leave a lasting impression on the kid and they will do violent things,I say what a load of hoowy. Only some one with a brain disorder would do something like that. any one 14 and up will not be scared by it!
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I rate this title off for age 0 and give it
heads will roll
heads will roll in this awsome scary movie your mom would let you see it if she lets you see doom watch its good
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
creepy
loads of violance but not real. cant give nightmares...kind off funny.
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
Too Long.
By the time you finish this, you'll wonder if it was worth your 2 1/2 hours, when there's really nothing new added to the story. When the movie is a good half hour too long in the first place, it's not really worth seeing at all.
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