Sleepy Hollow Shooting Script
The Horseman turns and strides back-no more nice guy!
ICHABOD (CONT’D) He is now!
Brom throws the pistol at the Horseman.
Across the way, Theodore looks to Glenn, turns his horse and flees. Glenn follows Theodore away.
Brom steps up, scythes ready. He and the Horseman go at it-Brom blocks axe and sword, deflecting blows…
Ichabod grabs a long-handled SICKLE, circles them… SWINGS the sickle. The Horseman blocks.
The Horseman battles both men at once, catching blows… counting every strike, METAL RINGING.
Ichabod’s sickle is knocked out of his hand.
Brom catches the Horseman’s sword in one scythe, catches the axe handle in the other scythe…
The Horseman flatfoot KICKS Brom, sending him down.
Brom picks up Ichabod’s sickle and SWINGS it…
The blade embeds in the Horseman down to the hilt.
ICHABOD (CONT’D) Now you’ve annoyed him.
The Horseman drops his axe, grasps the sickle handle… The handle SLAMS Ichabod away…
Ichabod crawls, shaking off the blow. The Horseman staggers, trying to pull the blade from his body.
ICHABOD (CONT’D) We cannot win this.
Brom yanks Ichabod to his feet and grabs his scythes.
As they flee, Ichabod grabs a wood-splitting AXE from the stump where it’s imbedded.
Behind, the Horseman manages to extract the sickle, drops it.
Brom and Ichabod head toward the COVERED BRIDGE that leads across to the town square.
The Horseman strides after… retrives his axe on the way.
EXT. TOWN SQUARE AND COVERED BRIDGE-NIGHT
Brom and Ichabod start across. Ichabod must help support Brom as Brom limps.
Behind, the Horseman picks up the pace, closing fast…
Inside the bridge, Ichabod and Brom are halfway across. FOOTSTEPS are HEARD POUNDING. Ichabod glances back…
The Horseman is not behind them. Ichabod and Brom looks up. The POUNDING FOOTSTEPS are on the roof, passing over… !
Ahead, at the mouth of the covered bridge, the Horseman leaps down, spinning in midair, lands, crouched.
Ichabod and Brom halt. The Horseman rises.
Ichabod releases Brom and moves forward, gripping his wood axe in both hands, SWINGING the axe downward…
The Horseman swings his axe-SPLINTERS Ichabod’s axe handle.
The Horseman, axe in one hand, sword in the other, turns upon Brom, and in pulling Brom aside out of the path of the sword, Ichabod recieves a sword-thrust in the shoulder, which makes him screem out.
The Horseman lifts his sword arm, THROWING Ichabod and withdrawing the sword in one motion… Ichabod tumbles.
Brom moves forward with scythes. The Horseman sets upon him with incredible ferocity-battling Brom back, striking so hard and fast it’s hard for Brom to keep blocking.
Ichabod tries to get up, but falls, looking up…
ICHABOD’S POV:
The Horseman KNOCKS one of Brom’s scythes away, takes another SWING- sends Brom spinning in a spray of blood…
The Horseman stands over Brom’s body, CHOPPING with his sword. Our POINT OF VIEW grows BLURRY…
A BLURRY HORSEMAN approaches the POV.
Ichabod is at the Horseman’s mercy.
Then, another ANGLE-the Horseman ignores Ichabod, strides past him. Ichabod takes a step back and collapses.
FADE TO BLACK
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD’S ROOM-NIGHT
Candlelight. Ichabod, shirtless, feverish, opens his eyes. The wound at the top of his chest is raw but with the edges sealed shut. Ichabod in on his bed. Doctor Lancaster bends over him. Baltus Van Tassel observes.
DOCTOR LANCASTER Remarkable. A wound like this should have killed him… but it needs no stitch and there’s hardly loss of blood.
Baltus sees Ichabod’s eyes open.
BALTUS He stirs.
Ichabod tries to rise, looking around, collapses in pain.
DOCTOR LANCASTER You must be still… the fever is on you.
ICHABOD (weakly) Katrina…
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, KITCHEN-NIGHT
A Woman is bent over the hearth, mumbling.
Then we see it is Katrina, mumbling over a boiling beaker of milk and green leaves. There is a dead crow on the hearth, with one foot chopped off and a sharp knife lying alongside.
KATRINA (chanting, repeating the phrases) Nostradamus Mediamus, Milk Of Mercy In Media Nos Laudamas…
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD’S ROOM-NIGHT
Katrina enters with the beaker of medicine. Baltus and Doctor Lancaster are bending over Ichabod, the Doctor trying to make Ichabod drink a livid green liquid from a shot glass.
DOCTOR LANCASTER It will restore you.
Ichabod closes his lips tight and refuses the drink-he doesn’t trust Lancaster. Katrina comes to the bedside with her beaker. Ichabod sees her. He is in pain, feverish.
ICHABOD I… I… tried to stop Brom but…
Katrina soothes him.
KATRINA Sssh… no one could have done more. Drink this down, it will make you sleep.
ICHABOD The Horseman was not set to kill Brom… or me… If Brom had not attacked him…
BALTUS Later. Rest now.
ICHABOD I have discovered something.
Baltus and Doctor Lancaster glance at each other.
BALTUS These are ravings…
ICHABOD The Horseman does not kill for the sake of killing… he choses his victims.
KATRINA Drink…
She holds the beaker to Ichabod’s lips. He drains it and falls back on the pillow, closing his eyes.
Baltus turns at a sound from the door.
Lady Van Tassel has entered quietly. She comes to him anxiously and grips his hand.
LADY VAN TASSEL What is it, Baltus?
BALTUS Nothing… nothing… Don’t be troubled, my love…
They hold hands lovingly, staring at Ichabod, who has fallen asleep.
ICHABOD’S DREAM-CHURCH-NIGHT
Empty church. Young Ichabod enters, carries a lantern past pews. He HEARS a SOUND, moving behind a pew to hide.
Ahead, across the church, a RED DOOR opens… Father and the villainous Third Man come out, shutting the door, speaking quietly. The Third man holds a piece of parchment paper. Father is ever emotionless.
Ichabod watches them, ducking down to keep hidden…
Father and the Third Man walk to leave down the aisle, passing close to Ichabod without seeing him. They exit, leaving Young Ichabod alone in the silent church.
Young Ichabod rises, begins moving fearfully forward… FOLLOW as he crosses through the church… going to the RED DOOR… opening it…
ICHABOD’S DREAM-CHURCH, BEYOND THE RED DOOR-MORNING
Young Ichabod enters. The room contains TORTURE DEVICES: IRON CUFFS, THUMB SCREWS, KNIFES and NEEDLES. There is a SPIKED CHAIR, fitted with sharp spikes, adorned with straps for holding down the “accused.”
Young Ichabod backs away, terrified, then sees…
A shaft of light cuts across a large, sarcophagus-like IRON MAIDEN- where MOTHER’S EYES can be seen through the slit in the Iron Maiden’s face. Open eyes. Dead eyes.
Young Ichabod lets out a strangled cry, runs to the Iron Maiden, trying to pull it open, clawing at the lock…
Finally, Young Ichabod backs away, choking on misery. He looks around in despair. He falls to his knees at the spiked chair, places his hands on the spikes, pressing…
As he sobs, blood runs down from his hands. He looks down and sees the CAT is there, looking up at him. The cat reaches up to rub its head against his face.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD’S ROOM-NIGHT
Ichabod, sobbing, has jerked up out of the dream straight into Katrina’s embrace.
She is sitting on the bed, holding him, calming him. She notices blood on his palms.
She takes a plain linen handkerchief from her cuff and dabs at the blood.
