 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Sleepy Hollow
- Review Date: July 31, 2005
- R
- Genre: Drama
- 1999
Common Sense Media says
There are lots of slasher movies better than this.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
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.
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.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about whether gore is ever necessary in a film. Is gory the same thing as scary?
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AGE
BEST MOVIE EVER!
I loved it! i watched it over and over again! my kids loved it to!!
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AGE
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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AGE
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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AGE
Perfect for teens!
My mom is extremely strict with movies, but she allowed my whole family to watch this movie. There is no language! (yay!) and only one very INEXPLICIT sexual scene with no nudity. There is a fair bit of violence, but it's not that graphic. it's not super gory, and it blood looks cheesy. My ten year old brother was allowed to see it.
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AGE
12 & 15 year old get their first taste of an R-rated movie.
This is one of the few R-rated movies you'll find with no explicit language, so this was our 12 & 15 year old's first one. They loved the movie and so did I!
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AGE
Great Movie
I had to see this because I love Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, and Danny Elfman. It was suprisingly good, being one of the only horror movies I have allowed myself to see (I'm more of an adventure-fantasy guy). I'm no parent, but the blood looks fake, and so do the severed heads. It's not that bad. Give it a look to watch on Halloween or Thanksgiving.
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AGE
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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Kid, 10 years old
July 16, 2011
AGE
It wasn't even scary!
There was just a little bit of blood, that's all. I love Tim Burton movies. :D
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AGE
Rated R?
This film was cheesy, 13+ though. The violence is only at PG-13 level...
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AGE
e for everyone
wtf this movie is like for an 9 year old,but good movie just if u want to be scare watch something else
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| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Director: | Tim Burton |
| Cast: | Christina Ricci, Christopher Walken, Johnny Depp |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 105 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | November 19, 1999 |
| DVD release date: | May 23, 2000 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | graphic horror violence and gore, and for a scene of sexuality |
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