Headless Horseman (2007)

Wow! Such a good movie.

Excellent but underrated film

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Trying to go to a party, a group of friends find themselves targeted by a cursed town to hold them hostage for a Headless Horseman to continue their curse and must find a way to leave the town alive.This is a really surprising and enjoyable slasher. One of the better elements at play here is the fact that this one manages to retain its creepy vibe throughout, playing this one as something much more than an average take on the genre. The woods here add a really great touch of suspense as there's a large amount of fog over the area, the disorienting designs of the leaf-less trees adding a really great air of creepiness due to all the chasing and stalking set there, and even plenty of the stalking set in town gets quite fun. That carries into the film's better qualities for those stalking scenes, both out in the forest as well as through the town as this one features some really great ones. The car graveyard chase features some great moments with the chase through the rows of skeletal cars, a big outdoor scene in the woods where he chases the group while on horseback and a rather lengthy chase through town that gets really fun and action-packed at times are those really great scenes, though on the whole there's really none that don't work. Added together with the fast-paced storyline and plenty of bloody decapitations that make up the kills here, this one has a lot right about it. There's really only one clear problem here, and that's the over-complication of the story. Although it plays off the long-standing tradition of having the creepy town meting out a supernatural brand of punishment on normal outsiders, this at times seems like its got way too much that takes up a little extra bit of time to further pad the back-story. Its initial explanation gives it plenty to get through but after awhile it just feels like overkill. Otherwise, this is a lot of fun.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Syfy's "Headless Horseman" (2007) is not based on Washington Irving's tale of "Sleepy Hollow," but why should it be since the headless horseman has been a motif of European folklore since at least the Middle ages? Irving simply borrowed the monster for his tale.The film was shot in Romania but the story takes place in Missouri. A group of youths take a shortcut to a distant party and end-up in the cursed hamlet of Wormwood, where they encounter the diabolical headless horseman who wants their heads. Because the town is cursed and has a pit-gateway to hell the inhabitants are wont to help the horseman get his heads, except for one person.The film only plays it semi-straight with a strong air of self-parody or camp, which means it's impossible to take seriously and you won't find the various horror antics chilling in any way, shape or form, unless maybe you're under-aged. But this doesn't mean it's not entertaining."Headless Horseman" takes elements from flicks like "House of Wax," "Ogre," "Sleepy Hollow" and "Wrong Turn" and does a decent job despite its TV budget. If you're a fan of those types of films you'll likely appreciate "Headless Horseman." I prefer it to the latter two.The film excels in its sense of horrific fun. Beyond that it has a quality cast of no-names and a good 'lost town' set. The no-name cast features not one, not two, not three, but four good-looking young women, including Elizabeth Prestel as Candy and Arianne Fraser as Tiffany. No nudity or sex, but it's not needed, and Candy has a couple of really cute outfits. Excellent job on this front.As far as the special effects go, mostly CGI, I was impressed during the first half but they got pretty bad by the final act. This was a case where less would've been more, but I guess the filmmakers felt they HAD to have an effects-laden finale. Too bad, because it really detracted from the film.Still, "Headless Horseman" is a quality low-budget horror flick that mostly gives the viewer the entertainment expected and desired. It's not serious horror in the sense of taking seriously or provoking real chills, not at all, but it's pretty darn entertaining.GRADE: B-

It's hard to believe how lousy this trash is. Never mind the title; this has nothing to do with the Sleepy Hollow legend, nor does it have any of the meaning that story does. It has no meaning at all.Just some gratuitous torture porn serial slasher flick with acting that makes a kindergarten play look like Oscar material by comparison. It's the same old routine you've seen 14,363,889 times before: a bunch of obnoxious screaming teens are arrested for no reason at all by a stereotyped wacko hillbilly sheriff. The kids are clichéd personality types from Saved by the Bell that would never hang out together in real life (bimbo, nerd, jock, dumb fat kid, smart shy girl with glasses, goth, stoner, etc.) Then a whole town of weirdos picks on them. Then some guy with a fake looking Halloween costume and cheap rasta wig stands around staring at them a lot, drooling blood a lot, and killing them off one by one a lot. But you'll never care what happens to these dimwits; if anything, you'll probably hope they get croaked; at least that'll stop the screaming.Who will live? Who will die? Who really cares?

I know, I know, it's so easy to criticize this film. Badly acted, poor special effects, no real redeeming qualities, etc. But before you do that, consider the circumstances under which it was made. It's a Sci-Fi Channel original, which means limited budget and no award expectations.While I'm not that familiar with the headless horseman and Sleepy Hollow legends (and honestly, I don't care that much about them), it was easy to follow the linear plot and enjoy the ride. And though I usually hate overacting, it was particularly the performances that kept me watching to the very end (especially Arianne Fraser as Tiffany is hilarious!!!).If there's one thing that seriously bothered me, it was the ending. It came too quickly and I expected someone else to survive. Nevertheless, if you want a film that won't give you sleepless night because of the complicated plot, give Headless Horseman a try. You might be surprised (in a positive way, of course :-)).