This Valentine's weekend I may not have had any romantic endeavours but I definetely filled my time well. I got the materials needed for my petticoat (the whole 6 metres) so prepare for updates on that once I pre-wash the fabric.
What I wish to discuss is actually the move and game I had the pleasure of watching and playing this weekend. Let's begin with the film.
Sherlock Holmes: The Last Vampyre was a fascinating watch. Recently I have been in the mood for something gothic and this played with the genre a perfect amount. It was an adaptation of ACD's story The Sussex Vampire which I have yet to read (and now very excited to) therefore I cannot speak on the changes made.
The entire ordeal felt as if it were a commentary on vampirism moral panics of the Victorian era, aided by racist anxieties and fear of newcomers. A man was accused of being a vampire simply by being able to connect to Peruvian women and speak their language. Sherlock was able to act as the voice of reason throughout the ordeal, of course vampires don't exist. Each part of the case does touch on different cliches of the vampire mythos, though, and it was a lot of fun to follow them. Because of ACD's spiritualist nature in his later life, I wondered whether that influenced this story, yet it remained firmly grounded the entire time. Ultimately a really interesting approach to the more mystic parts of Victorian life.
There was also an asorable scene that I need to shoutout. Holmes loves his disguises, and Granada never fails to show this off in adaptations. Once finding out his client was asking about vampirism, he immeditely got together a 'dracula' inspired outfit just to scare Watson. Doing a little hiss with fangs and all. He would be at home in a theatre.
It was intriguing to see Jeremy Brett as a much older Sherlock, I've mostly seen his earlier episodes, and I became aware afterward that he had died a few years after this. Sherlock in media is often on the younger side, dashing about London with a frantic energy, rarely do we see him age and mature. Seeing a 60 year old Sherlock still with Watson by his side felt so right. Really his approach had barely changed, he still through himself into danger, adventuring through the ruins of a long burnt down building. Despite only being in my 20s, seeing older characters still doing the things they love fill me with hope in life, and this is no exception.
I also played The Beekeeper's Picnic which is a fun point-and-click visual novel about a retired Sherlock weloming Watson to his cottage in Sussex after the war.
I had started this months ago and had managed to soft lock myself (for being kind to a child) and the thought of starting from the beginning meant I din't really want to pick it up again. But for the valentines spirit I knew I had to play it.
The game is great, Sherlock is still solving mysteries in his old age, just with lower stakes. All to gather materials for a picnic with dear Watson on the cliffs overlooking the beach so that Sherlock can finally tell him his true feelings. It's adorable, sweet and romantic.
The villagers themselves all have little things to solve about them, offering the characters a level of depth. Something that excited me greatly was that the voice actors for these villagers are in my favourite podcast Wooden Overcoats, my poor flatmate had to deal with the squealing it caused. It's rather embarrasing how quickly I recognised certain voices. But all of this actually offers a sense of community, Sherlock hasn't secluded himself from life, instead choosing a quieter version of living. This was especially apparent with the Mind Attic, in his younger years it's empty and dusty, but now Sherlock's opened the window, let the sun in and it is full of portraits of his community.
Sometimes it is okay to find love at 70 because you might just realise you've shared your life with the one you've loved the most anyway.
