The Last Vampyre starts with a prologue set in times past where a group of villagers burn a house down belonging to someone they believe is a vampyre. Fastforward 100 odd years later & Reverend Augustus Merridew (Maurice Denham) contacts legendary detective Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett) & his assistant Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) about the mysterious goings on in the village of Lambery since a stranger named John Stockton (Roy Marsden) arrived. The local villagers believe Stockton is a vampyre, Carter (Andrew Abrahams) the Blacksmith gorily died shortly after having an argument with Stockton, Miss Ruddock (Hilary Mason) an old spinster who lives opposite Stockton claims he never sleeps & the Reverend himself has seen Stockton prowl the church graveyard many times during the dead of night. At first Holmes seems uninterested but the Reverend goes onto say that Recardo (Anthony Price) the baby of Bob (Keith Barron) & Carlotta Ferguson (Yolanda Vazquez) died shortly after coming into contact with Stockton & that a unexplained plague is spreading through the village. Holmes accepts the case & faces superstitious locals & growing evidence that something supernatural may indeed be going on particularly after the Ferguson's maid Dolores (Juliet Aubrey) is found with two puncture wounds on her neck...

This made-for-TV English, American co-production was directed by Tim Sullivan & a fine adaptation it is too. I will openly admit now that I have not read the short story 'The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire' by Arthur Conan Doyle on which The Last Vampyre is based upon so I simply cannot compare the two, sorry. The script by Jeremy Paul is nice & involving as it draws you into the mystery but I was surprised that for the most part it doesn't centre on a murder. In fact Holmes states early on that no crime has been committed but accepts the case out of curiosity & it's mysterious elements. Once I got over that fact I became interested & engaged in the story which gripped me throughout as I really wanted to see where it was going. The character's are strong with plenty of mistrust, arguments, affairs & friendships & I liked where the story went as it built up to a pretty decent double twist ending as all is revealed. I have too say I didn't guess the outcome & bizarrely I couldn't stop thinking about the cool scene near beginning when Dolores the maid tries to make her boss's son Jack (Richard Dempsey) kiss her boots & what significance it had, or indeed will have, to the plot although to be fair the scene does have meaning in the context of the film, it's just a brief scene for some reason I couldn't stop thinking about whenever the character's reappeared on screen. Technically The Last Vampyre is very solid, while the budget probably wasn't huge the production is suitably impressive although there are still villages that look like the one in this in the UK even now, the props & settings are not too extravagant or detailed which gives it a certain bleak minimalist look & the costumes look & feel right. The acting is impressive from a good cast & I'm warming to Brett as Holmes having also seen his portrayal of the character in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1988) made a few years prior to this. Despite the fact that there is no murder for Holmes to investigate the other mystery elements of the story managed to grab & maintain my interest right through to the very satisfying climax where all is revealed. I think this is a must for Holmes & mystery fans alike & definitely worth a watch for more casual viewers as well, recommended.