The Hollow

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.

Washington Irving's short story 'The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow', which the screenwriters don't seem to have understood fully, provides the basis for this fair-to-middling effort. A new kid at Sleepy Hollow, New York's high school is actually a blood relative of the original Ichabod Crane. The family name has been changed to "Cranston", so nobody knows about his ancestry. Purely by coincidence, the innocent teen is hired to tell the story of the Headless Horseman to groups of kids as part of the town's Halloween celebration. (What were the odds?) Cemetery caretaker Stacy Keach is the requisite Crazy Old Guy who knows the "truth" behind the famous story but, as is so often the case with Crazy Old Guys, nobody will listen to him until it's too late and heads have begun to roll. THE HOLLOW tells us that Irving's famous folk tale was more-or-less true, kind of like how RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD told us the events in the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD really happened. Unfortunately this movie has little of RETURN's wit or energy. The characters are basically all teen movie stereotypes, including the nice handsome kid, the hot-headed jock, the cute cheerleader, the football coach who's a jerk, and so forth. There are some first-rate, briefly-seen CGI effects, including a shocking moment in which a girl has her head lopped off by the Horseman's sword while she's running away, shown onscreen with no cuts (other than the decapitation, that is). The film has a beautiful autumnal look with all the outdoor night sequences artfully lit with warm oranges, yellows and greens, but it's a shame the trees and assorted foliage don't really suggest New York in the fall. The most damaging problem from a visual standpoint is the fact that not only does this Headless Horseman have a head, but that it's a big, goofy-looking oversized pumpkin. Sure, he kills people, but in truth he looks a little bit ridiculous riding around with that big silly pumpkin mask. All in all the movie isn't a disaster or anything, just a very run-of-the-mill teen slasher entry with a supernatural killer and a tenuous link to a famous work of fiction. Don't expect brilliance, but THE HOLLOW might be worth a watch in the fall if you enjoy movies set at Halloween (like I do).

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.

The movie script was mediocre as were the special effects. However, it was a good Halloween movie for children because it wasn't inappropriate or overly scary. The acting could have been a bit better from Kaely Cucuo. Nick Carter did a surprisingly great job at acting. He has some talent other than singing inside him! I think the story line was a good idea (taking the story of Icabode Crane instead of just the headless horseman). I think the acting was only mediocre because the script was not written as well as it could be. That being said, Nick Carter did an even better job than I was expecting (and I'm a huge fan!) and go nick! When this movie is released to DVD, it is a good buy for Nick Carter fans or for parents with children from 8-12. I believe it was rated R for swearing, so maybe get the unedited version. Other than that it's not bad, not scary. More funny than scary

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...