The classic tale of
Ichabod Crane and the headless horseman is given an apocalyptic make
over in Fox’s latest supernatural thriller. Sleepy Hollow is
the story you know and love with an apocalyptic twist. It’s also
probably the most fun you will have watching television this season.
The pilot begins in the
American Revolutionary War, Ichabod Crane beheads a mysteriously
powerful horseman but not before being wounded himself. Ichabod
passes out and when he wakes up the war is over, and has been for
some time; it’s 2013. Ichabod meets Lieutenant Abbie Mills, whose
partner was killed by a headless horseman that just happened to wake
up at the same time as Ichabod. Abbie and Ichabod team up to figure
out what’s going on only to discover that the headless soldier is
actually one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse and if he
recovers his head he will kick start the apocalypse.
There’s no escaping the
fact Sleepy Hollow is a little bit ridiculous but that’s
part of its charm. The gothic genre is at it’s best when it
embraces the kitsch side and runs with it and Sleepy Hollow
seems be doing just that. There’s a headless horseman roaming the
streets of a seemingly normal contemporary town, it’s hard to take
that seriously. Yet somehow Sleepy Hollow drags you into the
absurdity and soon enough devil-like horned creatures seem perfectly
reasonable.
The pilot suffers the
same pitfalls as most sci-fi/fantasy pilots, in that it’s fairly
heavy on exposition. There are a lot of moments where people stand
around explaining information that will probably make more sense
later on. But in-between the bouts of exposition we get a sense of
the kind of show Sleepy Hollow could be. The effects are not
brilliant but that just adds to the classic horror feel that this
show exudes. While the pilot had a number of large scale fight
sequences, it was during the smaller moments that Sleepy Hollow
really shines.
Abbie Mills is a
fantastic female lead (not to mention a woman of colour) and the
interactions between her and Ichabod are incredibly entertaining. The
chemistry between co-stars Nicole Beharie and Tom Mason is magical.
Much of the enjoyment to be found in the pilot comes from the
relationship between Abbie and Ichabod and it will be the development
of this relationship that makes or breaks this show. That and
watching Ichabod attempt to negotiate the intricacies of the modern
world makes for enjoyable television.
The story is familiar
enough to be recognizable but there are enough differences to make it
entertaining. Taking the simple story about a small town and adding
an apocalyptic threat should be enough to sustain the story past one
season. And the threat of an unknown enemy – anyone could be evil –
makes this show incredible suspenseful.
Honestly, I wasn’t
completely sold by the pilot but there is enough there to keep me
watching. I really want this show to be amazing and the pilot gave me
hope that it can be. Let’s hope it lives up to it’s potential
before Fox cancels it.
Review by Yvonne
Popplewell
More of Yvonne’s work
can be found at her
blog.
0 comments:
Post a Comment