This is probably my favourite role from Johnny Depp. Based on Irving Washington's wonderfully spooky tale, he is the scientifically minded Constable "Ichabod Crane" despatched by that other Tim Burton regular Christopher Lee to investigate a mysterious murder in the eponymous sleepy Dutch settlement. When he arrives, he discovers that the murders are being attributed by the seriously superstitious residents to the "Headless Horseman" who has returned from hell to seek vengeance upon those who betrayed him back when the United States was fighting for it's independence. It soon emerges that there are plenty of sordid and evil goings on amongst the Van Tassels - Michael Gambon, a super Miranda Richardson and Christina Ricci and their sleazy, creepy neighbours ably depicted with some great performances from Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid and especially, though briefly, from Michael Gough. The story is cleverly layered and moves quickly, knitting the threads well and leading us down a path of jealousy, betrayal, witchery, and greed with the surroundings - an eerie, fogbound forest providing an excellent setting for this feature that is atmospheric and actually quite scary at times, too. I really enjoyed this - and it's still worth watching 20 years on....
