Sleepy Hollow (film)/YMMV
- Non Sequitur Scene: The bit with the villagers tricking Ichabod by chasing him with the fake horseman and throwing the pumpkin comes out of nowhere and is never referenced. Doubles as a Shout-Out to the original story.
- Though it's implied Ichabod realized it was trick, and presumably didn't bring it up out of embarrassment.
- The shot where the fog forms hands and douses two torches. Pretty cool looking, but the Horseman never shows the ability to do anything else like this, and isn't normally concerned with keeping his actions subtle.
- Though it does help with the implications there's a lot of darkness, evil, and supernatural things going on in Sleepy Hollow that aren't the Horseman.
- Complete Monster: Lady Van Tassel
- There are tales about the Headless Horseman that paint him as this, but actually he averts it. These tales are all second hand and in actual flashbacks he is shown petting the dog, comforting his dying horse and telling a pair of girls to keep quiet and not reveal his location to his pursuers, rather than killing them to make sure his cover is not blown. This ends up being the mistake that earns him his death.
- Probably more Even Bad Men Love Their Horses and a case of pragmatism.
- Ichabod's father also counts. A twisted and fanatical Knight Templar who killed his own wife, believing she was a witch, in one if his terrible torture devices.
- There are tales about the Headless Horseman that paint him as this, but actually he averts it. These tales are all second hand and in actual flashbacks he is shown petting the dog, comforting his dying horse and telling a pair of girls to keep quiet and not reveal his location to his pursuers, rather than killing them to make sure his cover is not blown. This ends up being the mistake that earns him his death.
- Crazy Awesome: the film is a dark dramatic fantasy dripping in black comedy created by Tim Burton and featuring Johnny Depp and Christopher Walken... if you can't mix all those factors together and come up with something that is in equal interdependent parts both insane and awesome you may have passed through an interdimensional vortex into another reality.
- Crowning Music of Awesome: Danny Elfman FTW.
- Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: Director Burton, after hearing that the horse used for the film's Headless Horseman had to be put to sleep, refused to part with it and adopted it as his pet.
- Draco in Leather Pants: All the "Is the guy that filed his teeth to points and joined a war purely for the love of slaughter and has been condemned to hell really evil?" If he were played by someone less charismatic or famous than Christopher Walken, it's much less likely anyone would try to argue that the Hessian was a cruel and vile creature.
- Freud Was Right: Tim Burton casting his (rather astoundingly busty) then-wife Lisa Marie as the mother of Ichabod Crane.
- Even Evil Has Standards: As pointed above, the Horseman, pre-mortem, was an extremely viscious soldier that revelled in carnage... but at the same, he was not one for killing children. His bit of kindness or mercy comes back to bite him in the ass, especially when we learn that a Young!Lady Van Tassel intentionally gave him away so she can perform her deeds in the film, as she narrates to her step daughter.
- Of course, he may have been more wary of the noise of killing them drawing attention to him rather than sincere mercy. He likely assumed his intimidating appearance would frighten them into being silent. It's just that the younger version of Lady Van Tassel was already a murderous bitch even at that age, and was clearly hoping to see him get killed.
- Evil Is Sexy: Lady Van Tassel
- Funny Moments: Despite its dark tone and violent decapitations, the film manages to induce giggling in the scene after Ichabod finally sees the Headless Horseman in person. His stammering reaction in bed clutching a blanket afterward coupled with fainting yet again is quite amusing.
- Not to mention Crane's bumbling investigations ("You must never move the body!" "Why?" "Because!....")
- Ichabod being terrified by finding a spider in his room, and leaping up onto his bed.
- Not to mention Crane's bumbling investigations ("You must never move the body!" "Why?" "Because!....")
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Kill it! No... stun it! |
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- High Octane Nightmare Fuel: A lot, but Ichabod's flashbacks stand out.
- Magnificent Bitch: Lady Van Tassel.
- Ms. Fanservice: Christina Ricci is absolutely smoking hot in this film.
- Narrowed It Down to the Guy I Recognize: Cleverly done here.
- Subverted with the casting. Since the film at its heart is a murder mystery, the film's cast is stuffed with every key player being of the Hey, It's That Guy! variety to hide the character culprit.
- Squick: The Horseman (with his mouth of POINTED TEETH) once does an involuntary liplock with Lady Van Tassel. This cuts the skin around her mouth open, causing blood to spill out. *cringe*
- He maybe didn't do it involuntary.