Sleepy Hollow Shooting Script
EXT. FOREST-NIGHT
A black horse runs, hooves pounding the ground.
THUNDER is HEARD. The horse stops… it is Brom’s horse, with Brom riding. Brom looks skyward.
All around, the WIND HALTS. A DEAD SILENCE falls. Distant HOOFBEATS can be HEARD.
Brom takes his long rifle from his shoulder, rides…
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
Behind Killian, MANTELPIECE STONES pulse, breathing. Demonic faces form, then disappear. WIND HOWLS.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
Thomas continues his fun, shadow animals circling him. Beth enters, looking at Thomas, smiling.
The magic lantern suddenly stops spinning. Shadow creatures freeze. Beth looks up, noticing the FEROCITY of the WIND. The smile leaves her face.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
The ENTIRE HOUSE CREAKS. Killian stands, looking up. The HOUSE CREAKS again, then suddenly the WIND CEASES. Silence.
KILLIAN Beth…
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
Beth picks up Thomas. The magic lantern shadow creatures begin spinning anew, quickly, around and around.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
With a ROAR, the fire flares. Killian looks… In the leaping flames he seems to see-as we also seem to see-the ILLUSION OF DEMONIC FACES molded out of flames.
Behind Killian, the DOOR SPLINTERS INWARD. The Horseman steps in, a battle axe in each hand. WIND BLASTS…
The DOOR to the other room SLAMS. Killian grabs a chair and HURLS it…
The Horseman swings, SMASHING it aside.
KILLIAN Beth… run!
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
Beth holds Thomas as she back away from the closed door.
KILLIAN (CONT’D; O.S.) (from kitchen) Get out!
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
Killian grabs an IRON SKEWER from the fireplace, SWINGS it to fend off a blow from the Horseman.
The Horseman SWINGS the other axe. Killian ducks. The axe CRACKS fireplace stone, throwing sparks.
Killian lunges, JAMMING the skewer into the Horseman… The skewer comes through the Horseman’s back. The Horseman SWIPES with the flat of one axe-POUNDS Killian aside…
Killian hits the wall, BASHING his head. Hits the floor.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
Beth kicks a carpet to reveal a TRAP DOOR.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
The Horseman pulls the skewer out of his body, throws it. He goes to lift Killian by the hair with one hand, brings back the axe in the other hand…
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
At the trap door, Beth lowers Thomas to stairs leading to a CRAWL SPACE under the GAPPED floorboards. Thomas is crying.
BETH Hush-hush-quiet as a mouse, now.
THOMAS Mother…
BETH You must hide…
Beth closes the trap door, frantically replacing the carpet. The room’s door FLIES OPEN… the Horseman strides in, carrying Killian’s severed head. Beth shrieks.
EXT. FOREST NEAR KILLIAN HOUSE-NIGHT
Brom, on his horse, hears Beth’s shriek.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, CELLAR-NIGHT
Beth’s SCREAMS are abruptly CUT OFF. Her BODY is HEARD HITTING the floor above. Thomas sees the shadow of Beth’s head rolling across the gaps in the floorboards above him, coming to rest with her hair showing, hanging down in the gap. FOOTSTEPS are HEARD…
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
The Horseman’s hands place Killian’s and Beth’s heads in a sack, cinching the sack shut.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
The Headless Horseman enters, bends to retrieve the battle axe he left. He stands. Long, silent pause.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, CRAWL SPACE-NIGHT
Thomas cowers, trembling. QUIET.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
The Horseman falls to his knees. He starts to CHOP at the floor with both axes. CHOPPING, CHOPPING, CHOPPING… making quick work of it…
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, CRAWL SPACE-NIGHT
A hole appears as debris falls…
Thomas looks up. He tries to crawl away.
The Horseman’s arm SHOVES through from above-grabbing Thomas and YANKING him up through the hole.
EXT. KILLIAN’S FARM, TOWN OUTSKIRTS-NIGHT
Brom rides from the forest.
Ahead, at Killian’s house, among scattered homes on the outskirts of town, Daredevil rides up as the Headless Horseman walks out with his sack of heads. The Horseman ties the sack to his saddle and leaps up.
The Horseman ignores Brom. But Brom refuses to be ignored.
Brom puts his reins in his mouth, aims his rifle… FIRING…
BOOM-the slug blows the Horseman off Daredevil, EXPLODING. Daredevil keeps going. The Horseman’s smoldering body is left “face down.”
Brom halts his horse. He climbs down, pleased.
The Horseman moves.
Brom backs away, satisfaction diminishing.
The Horseman rises to his knees.
Brom falls to one knee, begins reloading. He fills the gun from his powder horn.
The Horseman stands, unsheathes his sword and turns. The blast has exposed rotten flesh and maggot-infested muscle.
Brom readies his ramrod, but there’s no time. He rises, hefting his rifle, straight at the Horseman with a yell…
The Horseman is on him. Brom swings the rifle, blocking.
The battle is on, with Brom fending off the Horseman’s sword with the rifle-CLANK… CLANK… CLANK…
ACROSS THE FIELD, Ichabod and Gunpowder arrive…
UP THE FIELD, the Horseman makes a backhanded swing, knocks Brom’s rifle away, sends Brom to the ground…
The Horseman walks away from Brom. Ichabod sees this, registers it.
Brom pulls a knife and throws it.
The knife blade goes through the Horseman from back to front, like a spear thrust through a smoldering sack of rotten flesh. The Horseman pulls Brom’s knife, blade first, from his chest and turns upon Brom.
Brom scrambles up, flees, running toward Killian’s. The Horseman THROWS the knife…
THWAP-the knife imbeds in Brom’s thigh.
The Horseman strides to Brom.
Ichabod closes in, pulling an unlit lantern off his saddle.
The Horseman changes his sword grip, blade open… plants one foot on Brom’s back, raising his sword to skewer…
Ichabod arrives at full gallop-SMASHES the lantern into the Horseman-KNOCKING the Horseman off Brom.
IN THE DISTANCE, Theodore and Glen arrive on horseback. They halt where they are, watching.
Brom runs, limping to Killian’s house, a goal in sight: FARM IMPLEMENTS propped there. Brom grabs SCYTHES with long curved blades, one in each hand.
The Horseman rises.
Ichabod leaps off Gunpowder, runs to Brom’s side.
Once more, the Horseman turns away.
BROM I’ll get him!
Brom grabs Ichabod’s pistol. Ichabod grabs Brom’s pistol arm.
ICHABOD Wait! Don’t you see? -he’s not after us!
Brom shakes himself free and- FIRES-the bullet rips through the Horseman’s stomach to reveal putrid innards.
