Directed By: Anthony C. Ferrante
Starring: Billy Aaron Brown, Rebecca Mozo, Richard Moll
Tag line: "Don't Lose Your Head"
Trivia: A portion of this film was shot in an actual junkyard that, according to legend, is haunted
I’ve always enjoyed Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a short story first published in 1820 that tells the tale of schoolteacher Ichabod Crane and his run-in with the Headless Horseman, a former Hessian soldier who had his noggin blown off by a cannonball during the American Revolutionary War and now rides nightly, in search of his head. Over the years, several filmmakers have attempted to bring this story to the big screen, everyone from Walt Disney (1949’s The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad) to Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow). As for 2007’s Headless Horseman, a movie directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, it’s related to Irving’s classic tale in name only, telling an entirely different story, and doing so very, very badly.
After a brief flashback to 1862, in which two Confederate soldiers have an unfortunate run-in with the horseman, the story leaps to modern day. Seven friends: Nash, (Brett Lydic), Liam (Billy Aaron Brown), Tiffany (Arianne Fraser), Ava, (Rebecca Mozo), Lizzie (Trish Coren), Doc, (Joe Hartzler) and Seth (Elvin Dandel) , were on their way to a party when they got a flat tire, stranding them in the backward town of Wormwood Ridge, a place that, according to local hottie Candy (Lizzie Prestel), holds a ritual every so often, inviting the horseman to return and claim seven new heads. If he fails to do so, both he and the entire town of Wormwood Ridge will vanish into thin air. Aided by an ancient book, the group learns of the existence of a sword, blessed by a priest, which might be able to kill the horseman. Of course, they’ll have to find it first.
Good Lord, where to begin? For one, Headless Horseman has some of the worst dialog I’d ever heard (in jest, one character says to another “You should know…. You’re dating your mom”, to which the other character replies “I am not dating my mom”. Yeah, you can expect witty banter like that to continue through much of the film). The effects are also pathetic (one scene, where the horseman throws a character against a wall of hooks, is a serious contender for the lousiest bit of CGI ever committed to film), and the movie is devoid of any real tension; even the Horseman’s attacks are boring to watch.
If you’re in the mood for a movie about the headless horseman, steer clear of this mess and watch Burton’s Sleepy Hollow instead.
