Sherlock Holmes and the Shadow Watchers

I loved the story line! This was a brand-new story, not written by Conan Doyle. The script needs a little more work though to make the lines flow better. There seems to be an error in the number of murders that were done prior to the one in the opening scene. At one point, it said there were two, at another point, it said three. I would like to have seen more deduction in the story rather than explaining afterward.

The first scene was so badly done that I almost turned it off, but I'm glad I resisted that urge and watched the whole thing.

If I were reviewing this with professional actors, I would be rather cruel about the acting, but since they are not professionals, the performances were reasonable. In the beginning Holmes was overacting and his eyes certainly got too big in one early scene, but he got somewhat better as the story went on. I really wish they had dubbed in the violin music; it was bad. Dr. Watson's performance was great! The newspaper man was very good, and his lover was also good. I did not like LaStrade's accent at all; it was very distracting. Everyone needs more experience in acting on camera. Many of them would be fine on the local stage, but the camera is unforgiving because it records every little thing.

The murder in the first scene continues for much too long and is rather ridiculous on the overacted knife scene in the shadows. The camera work in that first scene is also very much overdone in looking up at the watchers. After that, the camera work gets better.

I am glad I watched this. Those who expect perfection should not watch it, but those who love new Holmes stories should definitely see it.

Suzy Oliver

When you get something like this, you have to give allowances. No money was spent; friends did the acting. Production is brusque.

What you have to look for is the intent of the writer/director/main actor. If he could have, would he have delivered a film that mattered? Well, he started with Holmes, one of the best places to start. And he enters what already qualifies as a subgenre of Holmes solving the Jack the Ripper case.

But alas, the story template is rolled out from the many previous films with nothing new. The perspective has no folds, no irony, comment or annotation. It really seems as if he wanted to create a genuine Holmes detective story.

There is essentially no deduction here, only discovery. We see little of what develops in terms of cause; it is explained instead. This filmmaker is off to a poor start, I am afraid and is likely to be an early, gruesome victim of the business.

The audience gets to see the murder of a young woman by a man, while people dressed in black cloaks and masks -- looking a good deal like the ghost in Spirited Away -- watch. Soon, Inspector Lestrade, sporting an accent that varies over the shop, shows up at the home of Sherlock Holmes, as portrayed by the film's writer and director, Anthony D. P. Mann. They have a newspaper reporter in custody because his paper published his story on the murder before it took place. Of course, he refuses to reveal his sources.

'Amateurish' is the first word that springs to mind in describing this movie. The second is 'inept' and the third is 'awful.' None of the performers, with the exception of Terry Wade as Watson, can speak more than two words at a time without pausing. Few of them have appeared in any movies save Mann's productions.

Every once in a while, someone shows up with enough money to produce a movie, but with no talent. Here's an example of that.

Credit Must be Given to Aspiring "Artists" that Despite All Odds Accomplish at Least a "Finished" Creation that will, No Doubt be "Sling-ed and Arrow-ed" to Death with Unkind, Sadistic Critics that will Give No Quarter.

This Could be Called a "Fan-Effort", and what can be Gleaned from the Limited Background to this 1-HR Entry in the Still Growing Fascination and Work with Conan Doyle's "Consulting Detective",

it was Made by, Writer, Producer, Director, an Leading "Mann",

Anthony D. P. Mann (should look to his Namesake for inspiration), Cobbled this Together with Friends and Willing Participants for $3,500.

Few "Professionals" were Involved, Making this "Amature-Hour", but Not Without some "Labor of Love" Appearing and Apparent in the Effort.

Taken with a "Context-is-Everything" Attitude, this can be an Instructive Effort for Film-Fans, Despite the Lack of Polish and Professionalism on Screen.

Did Someone Say "Primitive Art?".

Particularly wooden acting, continuity rife with errors, not worth your time. There are so many other Sherlock Holmes movies why would you sit thru this one?