The Hound of the Baskervilles once again has the world famous detective Sherlock Holmes (Matt Frewer) & his trusty assistant Dr. Watson (Kenneth Walsh) tackle yet another puzzling mystery. On this occasion Holmes is contacted by Dr. James Mortimer (Gordon Masten) who wants Holmes to investigate the death of his friend Sir Charles Baskerville (Barrie Baldano) over which he has suspicion's. Dr. Mortimer tells of a legend that dates back 100's of years to the very first Baskerville, Hugo (Ben Gauthier as Benoit Gauthier) & a hound from hell that has terrorised the Baskerville family ever since & that next to Sir Charle's body he discovered large footprints that he claims were made by the huge demon hound from hell. Holmes is intrigued & agrees to take the case on & ask's Watson to accompany Dr. Mortimer & the last of the Baskervilles Sir Henry (Jason London) back to Baskerville Hall while he attends to business in London. The mystery deepens as Sir Henry receives a letter warning him to stay away from the moors, an escaped prisoner (Jason Cavalier) is on the prowl on the moors, strange terrifying noises are heard late at night, mysterious letters to Sir Charles asking to meet him the night he died, local superstitions & a long list of suspects that Holmes & Watson must unravel & discover the truth...
This Canadian produced made-for-TV feature length Sherlock Holmes mystery was directed by Rodney Gibbons this was the first of four feature length Holmes stories made by CTV & is OK but far from the best version of this classic story ever made. The script by Joe Wiesenfeld based on the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle is pretty much like any other film version that I have seen although it's not as layered as I would have liked. It's very linear with few clues to ponder over, there is a distinct lack of action as the hound itself barely features & there are too few suspects. Since Holmes is missing for most of this particular adventure it's left to Watson to carry the story which I didn't think he did that well, the ending is also a disappointment with a poor reveal & not much in the way of any excitement. Having said that the story is still strong & entertains it's just there are so many better adaptations it's hard to recommend this particular one. Technically this The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the poorest & impoverished versions I've seen which counts against it. The costumes are all over the place & look shabby, the music & editing are poor & reek of a cheap made-for-TV production, the production design is bland & the interior of Baskerville Hall are obviously fake looking sets, the exterior is apparently Montacute House in Somerset, England but the moor shots definitely aren't shot in England as I've lived here all my life & it just doesn't look like any moor I've ever seen. The atmosphere is non existent, the hound looks really bad with stupid red plastic eyes & the whole production just doesn't feel or look right even if I can't quite put my finger on it as to why. Director Gibbons obviously knows nothing about creating tension as the horror & flashback scenes are filmed in slow motion, blurred colours & they jerk around all over the place which just cheapens everything even more. The acting is very bad, Matt Frewer is bizarre as Holmes & I can't describe how he plays him. Most people regard Jeremy Brett as the ultimate Holmes which I agree with & anyone familiar with his wonderful performances will be horrified by Frewer. One more thing, John Dunn-Hill as Frankland has the worst most pathetic Scottish accent I've ever heard, anywhere, ever. With nothing to distinguish this version of The Hound of the Baskervilles except the overall strength of the story which even these filmmakers couldn't screw up & much better adaptations out there this really is not worth bothering with. Try the made-for-British TV The Hound of the Baskervilles (1988) version staring Brett which is infinitely superior to this. Worth a watch if your a die-hard Holmes fan or if you can catch it on TV for free otherwise don't consider spending any sort of money or time on it.
This Canadian produced made-for-TV feature length Sherlock Holmes mystery was directed by Rodney Gibbons this was the first of four feature length Holmes stories made by CTV & is OK but far from the best version of this classic story ever made. The script by Joe Wiesenfeld based on the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle is pretty much like any other film version that I have seen although it's not as layered as I would have liked. It's very linear with few clues to ponder over, there is a distinct lack of action as the hound itself barely features & there are too few suspects. Since Holmes is missing for most of this particular adventure it's left to Watson to carry the story which I didn't think he did that well, the ending is also a disappointment with a poor reveal & not much in the way of any excitement. Having said that the story is still strong & entertains it's just there are so many better adaptations it's hard to recommend this particular one. Technically this The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the poorest & impoverished versions I've seen which counts against it. The costumes are all over the place & look shabby, the music & editing are poor & reek of a cheap made-for-TV production, the production design is bland & the interior of Baskerville Hall are obviously fake looking sets, the exterior is apparently Montacute House in Somerset, England but the moor shots definitely aren't shot in England as I've lived here all my life & it just doesn't look like any moor I've ever seen. The atmosphere is non existent, the hound looks really bad with stupid red plastic eyes & the whole production just doesn't feel or look right even if I can't quite put my finger on it as to why. Director Gibbons obviously knows nothing about creating tension as the horror & flashback scenes are filmed in slow motion, blurred colours & they jerk around all over the place which just cheapens everything even more. The acting is very bad, Matt Frewer is bizarre as Holmes & I can't describe how he plays him. Most people regard Jeremy Brett as the ultimate Holmes which I agree with & anyone familiar with his wonderful performances will be horrified by Frewer. One more thing, John Dunn-Hill as Frankland has the worst most pathetic Scottish accent I've ever heard, anywhere, ever. With nothing to distinguish this version of The Hound of the Baskervilles except the overall strength of the story which even these filmmakers couldn't screw up & much better adaptations out there this really is not worth bothering with. Try the made-for-British TV The Hound of the Baskervilles (1988) version staring Brett which is infinitely superior to this. Worth a watch if your a die-hard Holmes fan or if you can catch it on TV for free otherwise don't consider spending any sort of money or time on it.