Headless Horseman (2007)

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-

While better than average, "Headless Horseman" is yet another example of how the industry corrupts a genre by running winning formulas into the ground, in this case the old familial horror category. Although started by "Psycho" back in 1960, the genre did not really get going until the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". It combined the weird family stuff with elements from 'Deliverance" to portray backwoods American people as demented in-breds who bring their victims to a place they have turned into a slaughterhouse; insert obligatory junk yard of prior victims stuff - which in this case includes a bucket of cell phones which made little sense since later on you learn that the killings only happen for one day every seven years."Headless Horseman" adds in some "Wrong Turn", "House of Wax", and "Sleepy Hollow" stuff to the standard mix. Although not much of a story it does have excellent production design (perhaps because it was filmed in Europe), about the right level of computer effects, and a cast that includes several great looking actresses.Best of all it subtly takes the self-parody route, everything is played straight-but just enough over the top to provide some amusement value to a discerning viewer (the Candy character and Richard Moll's shopkeeper being the best examples of this). The obvious absurdities make it easy to suspend disbelief- knowing that not even a complete idiot would behave the way these characters do at times throughout the movie.Seven college kids find themselves being systematically exterminated by a horseman from hell (who at times has a head and at other times is headless) in the backwoods of Missouri. There is less misogyny than usual and the writer manages to avoid the usual off-kilter moral force that punishes the cast for engaging in sex and mild drug use (they do neither). There is a fair amount of gore but the "R" rating is extreme; the film should not be a problem for anyone of middle school age or older.The DVD has not special features related to the film itself.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

In "Headless Hoseman," seven college students on the road to get to a Halloween party take a detour into the bowels of hell. They stumble upon a small town in the middle of nowhere, and they soon find themselves trapped there, as unwitting victims of the Headless Horseman who, after every seven years, resurfaces to earth to claim the heads of seven kids...otherwise the entire town goes to hell with the Horseman.For a Sci-Fi original film, I was impressed with the effects (albeit they were still horrible, but not as bad as some other Sci-Fi original films) and even the acting of the seven students. I somewhat cared if they survived, although I predicted who would survive at the beginning of the film, and I was right, but still I was rooting for them to make it through and especially send the whole inbred town (oops, did I give that away? Well I guess that's why I say there's spoilers) straight to hell where it belongs.I won't say it as a B-rated horror film, I feel it was slightly above B...I don't know what that is exactly, but it's a little better than B-rated.

This was a great movie...the acting was average, the characters were average, and the special effects were pretty good but there were some flaws..the sheriff looks like the priest from the century before who originally killed The Legend of Sleepy Hollow but dies violently instead of destroying the demon.They also killed the main bad guy about twice but he would not stay dead. No explanation as to how that is possible. Additionally, they did NOT explain why The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was haunting this small American town and preventing the people from leaving.Watch it...you will NOT be disappointed!