Red-Barracuda From the opening few seconds it is immediately obvious that this is a TV movie. The production values scream this out. The music and sets all show their limitations pretty clearly, while the acting on display is very much of television standard. So from the get-go you are at least under no false impressions of the scope of this one and that's probably a good thing in the long run because this Sherlock Holmes mystery doesn't really ever ascend above the level of mediocre.The story is about a series of murders at a monastery seemingly committed by a vampire in the same area as Jack the Ripper operated. One of the monastic Brothers believes that it is the work of a demon he claims to have encountered before in British Guyana called Desmondo. The 'agnostic' Holmes is sceptical from the outset regarding this explanation and sets about applying his famed logic to solving the murder-mystery.Apparently this is not actually based on an Arthur Conan Doyle original story. This may go some way to explaining some of the more ambiguous supernatural material such as a possibly-maybe divine intervention moment towards the end. Despite a very promising set-up, it isn't a particularly exciting or well written story. The actor who played Holmes didn't seem right to me, on the other hand Dr Watson was portrayed in a textbook manner. But overall, the acting was sub-par amongst the side characters, with the character who played the police inspector spouting a truly dreadful 'Scottish' accent. Despite all this, it was an acceptable enough way of spending ninety minutes and I was interested enough to discover the solution to the mystery. But overall there was little in the way of actual atmosphere or inspiration in this one.

didi-5 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.

charlytully These are two of the choices offered as possible solutions in a fairly anachronistic rendering of an apocryphal Holmes-like tale. This made-for-TV story got nominated for cinematography awards in both the United States and Canada (it was filmed in Montreal). Therefore, if you want the best quality experience from WHITECHAPEL VAMPIRE, watch this with your television on "mute," and you will not hear the evidence as to why this offering did not receive any script-writing kudos. While it is clear Matt Frewer models his rendering of Sherlock Holmes more on the character "Snidely Whiplash" from TV's 1960s Bullwinkle cartoon than on Basil Rathbone's characterization in his famous string of 1940s Holmesian offerings, Tom Rack as Brother Abel is perhaps the weakest link in an acting chain of questionable strength. In terms of whether this series is great for kids, as some have suggested, it may well be, if one's goal is to raise little agnostics or atheists.

Paul Andrews The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire sees Sherlock Holmes (Matt Frewer) & his trusty assistant Dr. Watson (Kenneth Welsh) tackle yet another baffling mystery. Holmes receives a letter from a Brother Marstoke (Shawn Lawrence) asking for his help in the murder of Brother Sinclair (Norris Domingue) who appears to have been murdered by a Vampire. Holmes takes the case & discovers that while on missionary work in Guiana Brother Marstoke has encountered such Vampiric killings before, both Brother Lee & Thomas had fallen victim. Brother Marstoke thinks that a 'demon' of some sort is responsible & has followed him back to London to continue it's killing spree. Inspector Jones (Julian Casey) & Scotland Yard are clueless so Holmes begins his investigations & quickly finds a long list of suspects like Dr. Chagas (Neville Edwards) whom is Scotland Yards number one suspect & who both studies & adores Vampire bats & to further add suspicion has had run-ins with Marstoke before, but surely there's more to it than that? As the bodies continue to pile up Holmes must cut through the superstition to find the truth & unmask the killer!This Canadian produced feature length made for TV Sherlock Holmes mystery was written & directed by Rodney Gibbons this was one of four TV films by Gibbons to feature Frewer as Holmes apparently filmed for CTV television, first was The Hound of the Baskervilles (2000) then The Sign of Four (2001) after that came The Royal Scandal (2001) & finally this, the only one not adapted from an existing Holmes mystery. The script isn't overly complex or involving but it passes an hour & a half reasonably enough. It's a simple tale & isn't exactly edge of your seat stuff but it remains watchable, it entertains & at least I wanted to stick with it right trough to the end to find out the killers identity. The character's are as you would expect, Holmes is totally brilliant in every way, Watson is his slightly slow sidekick, the police are bumbling idiots & there are many people whom seem to enjoy acting suspiciously while a murder investigation is taking place. The final reveal & the killers motives are a little unadventurous & not entirely satisfying. Technically The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire is rather lame, the cast & crew obviously never went anywhere near Lonon & probably never set foot outside Canada which hardly gives the film an authentic feel or look, basically the whole atmosphere of a grimy Whitechapel just isn't there. It's painfully obvious that it was made for TV with bland static photography, a small cast, limited sets with little period detail & cheap production values throughout. Now a word about the casting, namely Matt Frewer as Holmes. Can you believe it? Isn't Holmes meant to be English? After you get over the initial surprise he ain't too bad actually & overacts with the best of them, in fact I started to quite like him by the end amazingly. Everyone else is bland & forgettable although Welsh as Watson is pretty good while Edwards as Chagas is pretty awful. Overall The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire is a passable made for TV murder mystery that entertains to an extent, I doubt anyone will want to watch it more than once though so try & catch it on TV for free, which is where it belongs to be perfectly honest. Worth a watch if your a mystery fan & there's nothing else on.