The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire

It's hard not to watch this and compare it with Jeremy Brett's The Last Vampyre, and once again, as with all of Matt Frewer's Sherlock Holmes films, it's a mix of good and bad.

Let's start with the good, the story, I liked it, I'm not a huge fan of vampires in general, but this works rather well. I like the visuals, it looks authentic enough, it's atmospheric, it looks murky, and lacks some of the usual polish you get in such productions.

The acting, is a little patchy it's fair to say, some of the cast are a little hammy, Frewer though I did enjoy, I liked his accent, I liked his quirkiness, he had some presence.

On the debit side, it felt a little clunky at parts, some of the dialogue is a little over the top. I mentioned earlier that you shouldn't compare, the trouble is when you do compare this with Brett's, it's just not in the same league.

It's watchable, 6/10.

It's really nice to have new Sherlock Holmes adaptions played by different actors. Every actor who played Sherlock Holmes and dr. Watson bring their own Aura to the parts. Give it a chance just enjoy it for what it. Makes more sense than the Robert Downey jr. Versions. Good atmosphere, fun to watch. I wish there were more than four.

The skeptical Sherlock Holmes (Matt Frewer) and Dr. Watson (Kenneth Welsh) investigate some deaths in the monastery of Whitechapel attributed to a vampire. Sherlock Holmes refuses to believe in any type of action from the supernatural or any coincidence. As usual, there is a very logical conclusion of the story. This is the type of very verbalized movie, basically with no action. The viewer feels like being in a theater, with a stage on the screen. Therefore, the running time could be shorter. The viewer may also become a tired, especially if he is not fluent in English and needs to read the subtitles. But it is a good plot and the mystery and its resolution keep the attention along the whole story. My vote is six.

Matt Frewer's four films for Hallmark television are never likely to budge memories of the series made for Granada in the 1980s and 1990s; however, they are meant to appeal to a young audience and in this respect, they probably succeed.

Frewer is saddled with a comedy deerstalker, the worst British accent since Robert Duvall played Watson in 'The Seven-Per-Cent Solution', and an annoying range of tics, smirks and general non-Holmes type behaviour. But he does have a rather good Watson in Kenneth Welsh who is a more serious version of Nigel Bruce from the 1940s Holmes films, so there are some compensations.

The story here is nothing to do with Conan Doyle's 'The Sussex Vampyre'; it concerns a group of monks who are slowly being killed by what appears to be a vampire bat - each are found slumped and cold and bleeding from two wounds to the neck. Is there something supernatural going on, or, as Holmes believes, it this an inside job? The filming is actually not that bad - Canada passes for Victorian England, and set dressing isn't that inaccurate. With a better actor in the lead, these could be worthy additions to the screen Holmes. It's just that Frewer's version doesn't work - unless you see him as a kind of cartoon, comedy, superhero Holmes.

If you are a Holmes completist, then of course you will want to watch these. But otherwise, you won't miss anything by staying away.

Am a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and get a lot of enjoyment out of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. Also love Basil Rathbone's and especially Jeremy Brett's interpretations to death. So would naturally see any Sherlock Holmes adaptation that comes my way, regardless of its reception.

'The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire' is the last of four Hallmark adaptations with Matt Frewer as Holmes. Don't care for any of the four, with 'The Sign of Four' being especially disappointing, but ranking the four 'The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire' is perhaps the best. Like with 'The Royal Scandal', it at least doesn't have the dubious distinction of not doing classic stories justice.

Again, Kenneth Welsh is the best thing about 'The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire' and the only good actor in the film. He is an excellent Watson and more the faithful interpretation of a loyal and intelligent Watson and not the bumbling buffoon for comic relief purposes. Cary Lawrence is also decent.

Found some of the locations suitably atmospheric and parts of the music eerie.

However, my negative feelings on Frewer's Holmes continues to remain unchanged. He is far too manic and eccentric, with too much of an over-emphasis on hammy humour in places, and his rapport with Watson too abrasive and borderline bullying. The rest of the cast struggle, especially Neville Edwards playing Chagras as too much of a cartoonish caricature and Michel Perron over-acting just as much as he did in 'The Sign of Four' and with an even more inconsistent, risible accent.

Despite being the best generally of the four films, 'The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire' is one of the weaker-looking ones too. Too much of it looks static and cheap, with only some of the sets appealing. Moreover, 'The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire' has a lack of tension and suspense and is pretty dull, the pedestrian direction not helping. It further suffers from being somewhat over-stuffed, too many various and different ideas cobbled together and it just feels muddled and disjointed. The denouement is far too rushed and doesn't make much sense as a result, while the dialogue lacks intrigue and subtlety.

Overall, far from irredeemable but lacking in a lot of lustre. 4/10 Bethany Cox