Give a brief plot overview
‘Sleepy Hollow’ is a 1999 film, directed by Tim Burton. Set in 1799, It follows the main character, Ichabod Crane, played by Johnny Depp, who is a police detective. Ichabod is sent from New York to investigate murders in the small town ‘Sleepy Hollow’. All these murders are strange – each victim has had their heads cleanly chopped off, and their heads have been removed. When Ichabod arrives in Sleepy Hollow, he meets Katrina and her father Baltus. The rumour of the town is that a headless horseman is responsible for all these murders. Ichabod is skeptical of this until he sees the horseman for himself. He realises that the horsemen is not killing randomly – his targets are specific and controlled by whoever has the horseman’s head.
Compare two protagonists from Sleepy Hollow and Frankenstein
The protagonist in Sleepy Hollow is Ichabod Crane, and the protagonist in Frankenstein is Victor Frankenstein. Ichabod and Victor are both male characters of the same age. They both seek knowledge and answers. Ichabod Crane is haunted by his past. His memories of his mother and introduction to torturing devices have lead up to his career and his fear of blood. On the other hand, Victor Frankenstein had a seemingly perfect childhood. The whole novel of ‘Frankenstein’ surrounds Victor who creates the Creature, but fails to take responsibility for his actions. This lack of responsibility creates more and more problems, as his friends and family get killed as a result. The film ‘Sleepy Hollow’ follows Ichabod who has no involvement with the events in Sleepy Hollow, but is determined to solve and fix them. He is more selfless than Victor Frankenstein.
They are both social outcasts.
They are both highly educated and highly ambitious.
Compare the two antagonists from Sleepy Hollow and Frankenstein
The antagonist from Frankenstein is the Creature, and the antagonist in Sleepy Hollow is the headless horseman. Both characters are feared by all, and are responsible for many murders, however they both differ in intention. Both characters are also ‘undead’. As readers, we understand the Creature and see how society has failed him and caused him to become miserable and monstrous. As an audience, we do not know the perspective of the headless horseman so cannot understand or sympathise with him.
Describe the aspects of the setting you have noticed. Reflect on their ‘gothic’ nature.
Aspects of the setting that I have noticed that kept repeating throughout the film were pumpkins, dark lighting, bare trees, eery fog, forest, cold weather, dark cloudy skies, colours of grey, black, purple and orange. These aspects all create fear and unsettling, and supernatural feelings. ‘Halloween’ and monsters vibe. The date that the film was set in (1799) is relevant as it was a ‘gothic’ era, with witches, magic and medicine.
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