#vampire 2018

When I said I wanted Sherlock Holmes and lesbians, I did not mean it like this. If The Crucifer of Blood put me into a slump, then Vampire made it impossible for me to pursue more media until I could figure out how to review it. I am conflicted about this short film, and it does not help that I already have a distaste (though for different reasons) for the adaptation’s source material. I have already decided that this review will focus heavily on the content of the film; rather than the aspects, and I will be placing warnings for spoilers where they are needed. The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire is low on my list of favorite stories for various reasons; however, [spoiler start] it is difficult for me to enjoy media wherein the disabled character is the “got you” villain. I especially disliked that, in this short, the physical disability became an intellectual disability for the fifteen-year-old Jack. The acting for Jack wasn’t necessarily bad, and the first half of this short treats him with an amount of respect that many autistic/intellectually disabled people don’t always receive in media. Although, It just quickly became apparent that it wasn’t going to stay like that, especially when this version of Holmes called him a moron. [spoiler end] I do not want to be harsh on something produced by a small production team, but something about this film made me viscerally uncomfortable. It might have been the framing, wherein it meant to have a horror aspect, but it did not manage to land it well. It might be due to personal taste; I can’t speak for everyone with a learning/intellectual disability, I can only speak for myself, and I just wasn’t fond of Jack’s portrayal. I will admit I am harder on modern adaptations, so perhaps I am not as lenient as I would be on older media, but my opinion still stands. When I first started watching this short, I wasn’t aware there would be actual lesbians, and I was a fool when I watched them kiss each other goodbye. I think the queerness of the Holmes and Watson portrayal is why I am so very conflicted. I love all adaptations where they are sapphic women; it was difficult for me to watch this film at points because of the forenamed representation. There is not much I want to say about Vampire; I mostly want to be done with this review so I can finally move forward with my list. I would not be opposed to more projects from this production team, I would look forward to it, but I think this might have been a miss for me. I think it is something you have to judge for yourself, I don’t have strong enough of an opinion, and I don’t think I will know where I stand on this film for a long time.