Sherlock Holmes (film)/YMMV: Difference between revisions

* [[Acceptable Religious Targets]]: Mormons in "A Study in Scarlet". In Doyle's defense, though, only Brigham Young's original polygamist followers get this treatment, not every Average Joe on the street who follows the religion.

* [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]: Oh, '' dear God!''

* [[Awesome Ego]]: Sherlock himself.

* [[Complete Monster]]: Holmes feels more revulsion towards the blackmailer Charles Augustus Milverton than to any of the fifty murderers he'd confronted in his career.

** The titular substance in ''The Devil's Foot'' is literally this. In a less literal sense, Holmes and Watson testing it ''on themselves''.

** ''The Adventure of the Copper Beeches'' is chock full of Nightmare Fuel. First, there's the poor governess, who is brought to a mysterious countryside manor, where she is subject to bizarre demands, discovers that her boss is a [[Complete Monster]], and finds the child she is to care for takes a [[Like Father Like Son|perverse delight in torturing animals]]. Likewise for {{spoiler|Rucastle's daughter, who has been imprisoned by her unstable father for some time to keep her from marrying and obtaining her inheritance.}} This would be creepy enough, but the setting of the story means that {{spoiler|the two girls}} are entirely at the mercy of an unbalanced sociopath, and can draw on no one for aid. (Holmes even [[Lampshade Hanging|comments]] that the isolated country setting can elevate ordinary crimes to the level of Nightmare Fuel.) Also, depending on your feelings about dogs, the vicious, half-starved mastiff can count, too.

** "The Creeping Man" is, well, super creepy.

** The [[Jack the Ripper]] game, being based ([[Captain Obvious|naturally]]) on the Ripper killings has this in spades.

** A less sinister example: Holmes' deductive abilities arguably go from "cool" to "creepy" in the first chapter of ''The Sign of Four'' (that is, the second novel) when he studies Watson's watch for a minute, then proceeds to give a summarized biography of Watson's elder brother, whom he hadn't known ''existed'' before he started.

* [[Saved By the Fans]]: Doyle ''tried'' to kill of Holmes when he got tired of the character. People didn't take it well, so he was brought back.

* [[Unfortunate Implications]]: While most examples here would be [[Fair for Its Day]], some have objected to the thuggish potrayal of a black goon in "The Three Gables", considering that Doyle handled race much more maturely in "The Yellow Face".

* [[Values Dissonance]]: Sir Arthur's depiction of the Mormons as a [[Religion of Evil]] was completely uncontroversial at the time (Jules Verne also did it in "''Around the World in 80 days''"), whereas his portrayal of the KKK as a murderous secret society was not. [[Acceptable Targets|Nowadays, it's the opposite.]]

** A case could be made for Holmes as well, particularly with the examination of a Mook's body in Watson's room. Holmes knows exactly how to pique Watson's interest, tricks him into supplying the answer to a question, and when he leaves to investigate a factory by the wharf, conveniently leaves his revolver behind, knowing that Watson will follow him to see that he has it. Watson realizes this as well. "He's left it there on purpose."

* [[Mis Blamed]]: Many aspects of the film (i.e. Holmes and especially Watson - stereotyped as a bumbling sidekick - as action heroes, Holmes as a bohemian) which were criticized as being unfaithful to the original stories actually are faithful to them - it's [[Popcultural Osmosis]] of [[Lost in Imitation|less faithful adaptations]] that makes these aspects seem out-of-place.

* [[Paranoia Fuel]]: Holmes' urban camouflage. He could be hiding in your room, watching what you're doing ''right now''.

* [[Serial Numbers Filed Off]]: ''Vidocq'', a 2001 French film, has many features similar to the first movie. Its protagonist is Eugene Francois Vidocq (1775 - 1857), a real-life French [[Reformed Criminal|criminal-turned-investigator]] who is often called the first [[Private Detective]] of all time. Instead of using established "canon" material, it pits Vidocq against a supernatural killer who ostensibly uses magic to murder his victims and has ties to the very top of Parisian society. Recycle these ideas [[Recycled in Space|IN LONDON]] and you've got this film.