Sherlock Holmes: The Last Vampyre

The Last Vampyre is an overblown two-hour adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", and was perhaps the most ill-advised of Granada Television's Sherlock Holmes series. Entirely contrary to the tone and spirit of Doyle's tale--which finds Holmes victoriously pitting his well-grounded deductive powers against irrational fears of a rise in blood sucking--The Last Vampyre is something of an embarrassment to the largely wonderful legacy of Granada's earlier efforts. (For the record, most of the creative executives who, along with star Jeremy Brett, had made the beloved series what it was in the 1980s were replaced by 1992, the year of this film.) In this version, Holmes does battle with a Dracula-like fellow who may or may not be the real McCoy. There is a great deal of padding to fill out the story to feature length, and it is mostly silly. So, you ask, is there anything to recommend this? Well, there is the ailing Brett's ever-fascinating performance, which deviates from Doyle's vision of the detective hero toward something darker and more personal. Edward Hardwicke does his usual warm and capable work as Dr Watson. --Tom Keogh