Gothic And Sleepy Hollow

Perhaps the term that best describes Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow" (1999) would be "neo-Gothic". Now, in order that this term would become more than just an empty label, we should perhaps ponder a bit on the meaning of "Gothic" in fiction. The beginnings of Gothic fiction are usually traced back to Horace Valpole's novel "The Castle of Otranto" (1764), the term itself originating from the parallel revival of Gothic architecture in that era, which is therefore often called neo-Gothic. But since in literature Gothic is the widespread word, when I say neo-Gothic, I mean something new compared to earlier periods of Gothic fiction. Gothic flourished in the early romantic period and lived on in the Victorian era. In my experience, the earlier you go, the more the horror in such stories is mixed with the melodrama and romantic plots fashionable in the era. Take Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820) for instance. Two thirds of the story is about the description of the experiences of a schoolmaster called Ichabod Crane in the New York countryside, where we learn about his hopes of marrying the beautiful and wealthy Katrina Van Tassel. We also learn by and by about the legend of a Hessian horseman, whose head was shot off by a cannonball, and whose ghost still haunts Sleepy Hollow in search of his head. But the real Gothic episode comes in the last third of the story, where Crane is chased by the horseman, and is hit by a pumpkin thrown at him by his pursuer. Then Crane disappears, but it is alluded at the end that he was a victim of a practical joke by Brom Van Brunt, who also courted Katrina, and eventually even married her. Now, we have a similar subplot in Tim Burton's film, but only as part of a much more intricate plot.

How did we get this far? By the late Victorian era, and the early 20th century, the horror element started to dominate in Gothic fiction through the succession of such authors as Poe, Stephenson, Lovecraft and so on. In film making, the Universal horror series beginning with "Dracula" (1931) had a great influence by concentrating on the essence of horror often leaving out considerable bits of the original plots. Then as we progressed through the 20th century, the changing lifestyle required faster paced plots, various forms of the "thriller" developed in which there was always some space for Gothic through suspense. Tim Burton's work is then a very good example of what I call here neo-Gothic, the combination of the suspenseful classic horror essense with the contemporary fast paced drama and twist based plots. In his movies Gothic is not just a tool sometimes used, but a determining experience. This transformation is very apparent in Sleepy Hollow. Starting with colors, a greyish world in which blood flows in a very acute red, through the setting of buildings and other locations such as the ominous tree where the horseman is traced back to, and including the musical score of Burton's long time collaborator, Danny Elfman. The plot involves constable Ichabod Crane in the investigation of mysterious decapitations, which do not happen as random as they first seem, especially as we find out more and more about the inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow. Johnny Depp plays the skeptic police constable with a strong belief in science, who by the end has to accept that not everything he thinks impossible is indeed so. His performance adds to the attractive appeal of the film, and prompts me even more to recommend this great movie.