The Hollow

In THE HOLLOW, the legend of the Headless Horseman just might be real. On the eve of the annual "haunted hayride", creepy cemetery groundskeeper, Claus Van Ripper (Stacy Keach) warns people of the Horseman's return. Shockingly, no one believes him.

Then, teens from the local high school start disappearing, causing absolutely no response from law enforcement!

Of course, this movie wouldn't be complete without someone finding out that they're a direct descendant of Ichabod Crane. His name is Ian (Kevin Zegers) and this... is... his... des-tin-y...

Soon enough, the heads start flying!

This movie somehow manages to be both grisly and quaint at the same time. Kaley Cuoco co-stars as Karen the cheerleader soon-to-be ex-girlfriend of the extremely annoying school quarterback.

Also watch for Eileen Brennan in a humorous cameo, and Judge Reinhold as Ian's crabby dad.

Great Halloween fun...

I watched this movie last night with my 8 year old and several of my nieces and nephews who range in age between 7 - 16. This was an entertaining movie. It had us hooked from the beginning. All bad language had been edited out... the violence and gore was implied enough that it got the point across without upsetting the younger kids. It was a great Halloween movie that had enough fright to have the younger kids burying their heads under pillows. The story line was not extremely deep, but it was a great fun movie. There were a few recognizable stars in the cast and a couple that I would say will be "up and coming". Kevin Zegers plays the leading man and I think he really has a nice look about him, and talent to boot. Kaley Cuoco was the leading lady and I just don't think she pulled it off. Nick Carter also had a main role... terrible. Shelley Bennett (up and coming?)played a supporting role - "Erica" - I think they could have utilized her more, she did really good with what they gave her. I think a flip flop of Kaley and Shelley in the roles would have upgraded the movie. All in all, it was a fun flick to watch for the adults and kids and I would watch it again.

The Hollow was an OK movie with OK acting. Rent it you could get a little freaked. Kaley Cuoco from TV's 8 Simple Rules is in it, as well as the Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter (Who does worse than Paris Hilton did in HOUSE OF WAX). The movie originally aired on ABC Family, which in my opinion, it shouldn't have, because it was kind of freaky for being a family movie. The TV rating is TV-14 (D,V,L,S) and the MPAA Rating for it is R (for some scary images and sexuality). So if it's rated R why is it considered a family movie? Anyway, THE HOLLOW is an OK movie which I would spend 4 bucks to rent or just watch it on ABC Family's "The Thirteen Nights Of Halloween" (airing from October 19 - October 31).

The Hollow is the kind of film you watch with a bunch of friends and family who have a good sense of humor. The story uses the archetypal Headless Horseman theme and does a silly bit with poor Washington Irving's grave, but Stacey Keach is priceless as the curmudgeonly Klaus Van Ripper. The name alone is a hoot. What makes this film better ,for me anyway, is that my family and I visit Sleepy Hollow every Halloween for their Legend Weekend festivities. The original Keach character still gives tours of the Old Dutch Church where the bridge used to be and we got some great photographs of him amongst the graves of the Van Alan family. Anyhow, The Hollow, despite some gratuitous gore is not a bad escape for a rainy night and a bowl of popcorn. In addition, the hayride in the film is actually modeled after the Haunted Hayride in Sleepy Hollow that the local High School has been hosting for years.

The acting is what you'd expect from a group of young actors being led by a young director, and probably a production management group of those in their 20's. The older actors, like Keach and Reinholdt do well, but then they've got talent to draw upon. The story is interesting yet lacks a sense of build and suspense. It's unpleasant to see the filmmakers essentially use Washington Irving as a horror character, or I should say use his grave as a horror element. The Headless Horseman is a nice horrific image with an over-sized, hideous looking jack-o-lantern for a head (which should have been slightly smaller). He's not quite as scary as the Christopher Walken horseman in Sleepy Hollow, but still pretty good. He's also a little too sluggish on his horse, not really as quick as one would expect. The climax is weak and could have been better realized. It's a worthy climax in theory, but just not well-handled and with very limited action.