Audio problem: Near the end of the movie, when Ichabod gives the horseman his head back, in one shot, the horseman has his sword in one hand, and in the next shot he puts his head on with both hands; yet we do not hear any sound of him either dropping his sword or re-sheathing it.
Revealing mistake: When Brom (disguised as the horseman) throws the jack-o-lantern at Ichabod, there is a shot from Ichabod's perspective showing the jack-o-lantern flying toward him. It jiggles from side to side, revealing it was travelling on a wire.
Ichabod Crane: Villainy wears many masks, none so dangerous as the mask of virtue.
Trivia: Numerous references to other Tim Burton films: a) The dress Katrina Anne Van Tassel wears at the end is similar to Beetlejuice's outfit. b) Crane has various sharp scissor-like tools, which is a reference to Johnny Depp's early film "Edward Scissorhands" (1989). c) The scarecrow at the beginning looks exactly like Jack from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1994). d) The covered bridge is a lot like the bridge in "Beetlejuice."
Question: Why was The Headless Horseman ordered to kill the Killian family including their incredibly young son?
Answer: As revealed by Lady Van Tassel to Katrina during the film's climax, the midwife Mrs. Killian was abreast of the secrets regarding the affairs of Peter Van Garrett with the widow Winship, as well as their unborn child. Mrs. Killian revealed this secret to Lady Van Tassel right in front of Mr. Killian, which signed both of their death warrants. However, Lady Van Tassel most likely commanded the Headless Horseman to kill the Killians (as opposed to just saying Mr. & Mrs. Killian), to which the Horseman would instinctively murder their child too. It may have been an oversight on the part of Lady Van Tassel, as the child would undoubtedly be ignorant of affairs and the intricacies of legal matters regarding wills, but then again, she probably didn't care anyway.
Phaneron ★