Continuity mistake: We are told that the horseman's sword cauterises the wounds it makes. Earlier on in the film, however, the cuts cause squirts of blood to fly into the air, such as when the scarecrow is sprayed with blood. (00:03:40)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Plot summary
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christopher Lee, Christopher Walken, Christina Ricci, Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson, Jeffrey Jones, Casper Van Dien, Richard Griffiths, Michael Gough, Ian McDiarmid
A police constable called Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to find a murderer who has already beheaded three people. He learns that a headless ghost is comitting the murders, but he has to find out who is telling the ghost to do it. On the way, he meets a beautiful girl whose boyfriend is conveniently killed, and Ichabod subsequently falls in love.
Charley
More mistakes in Sleepy Hollow
Brom Van Brunt: We haven't heard your name yet, friend.
Ichabod Crane: I have not said it.
Trivia: When Crane starts chopping the Tree of the Dead and he gets blood in his face, this was a joke from the directors as they knew he wasn't expecting the blood. You can see the look of surprise on his face. It was well-known among the cast and crew that Johnny Depp (who played Crane) hated anything being sprayed in his face.
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 ★