Local filmmaker CJ Goodwyn held the Hill Country premier of his feature, “Sherlock Holmes: Mare of the Night,” at Cailloux Theater. The screening was followed by a question-and-answer session with the cast and crew.
The film is a horror-heavy rendition of a Sherlock Holmes story, where the plot dives into the detective’s personal mysteries and traumas. The fresh look on this iconic character places Holmes outside of his usual setting of London, and into the isolating countryside.
“I wanted to tell a true hero’s mentality if they’ve been through some really dark times. It could be a police officer, someone in the army, just people that deal with and see death on a weekly basis. What does that do to you and your psyche,” Goodwyn said.
Centering the story around this well-established character allowed for a different approach to the typical Sherlock Holmes story.
“ If you’ve read the Sherlock Holmes books, the author Arthur Conan Doyle wasn’t always very nice. He did drugs. He drank alcohol. He was pretty messed up. He didn’t always win. There were a lot of dark faces in those books, and I think that Hollywood kind of shies away from that. I saw an opportunity to use the Sherlock Holmes character and tell a true hero’s story,” Goodwyn said.
In Goodwyn’s take, Holmes battles with the repercussions of having a mentally distressing career – specifically battling with the regrets of an unsolved case. The movie also sheds a light on how unsolved mental turmoil infected Holmes’ life beyond himself alone.
“ I definitely wanted to make sure what I did was not only show what Sherlock was going through, but also what the caretaker goes through. You see a lot of stories of people who are coming off drugs and trying to clean themselves up, but you don’t see what happens to the person that’s trying to help them,” said Goodwyn.
Goodwyn was able to use Holmes as a character in his own movie because of recent copyright expirations. In the United States, copyrights for most works expire 70 years after the author dies or 95 years after publication in other cases. As of 2023, Sherlock Holmes entered the public domain.
“ When I was interested in doing the story, I researched and found that all the Sherlock stuff would become public domain in 2023, so we were kind of ahead of the game a little bit. You’ll see much more Sherlock stuff starting to come out,” Goodwyn said.
Goodwyn could have told his story using original characters, but by using a well-known character from a series of legendary work, “Being an indie filmmaker, having Sherlock in that world, you’re definitely able to get more eyeballs on it. I wasn’t trying to tell a Sherlock Holmes story. I wrote it in a way where people already knew these characters, so we were able to focus more on their tragic pasts and what they’re dealing with,” Goodwyn said.
The cast and crew of “Sherlock Holmes: Mare of the Night” will continue their touring around to theaters, screening the movie in Austin next.
For more information about the movie and upcoming screenings, visit their website at: www.sherlockholmesmareofthenight.com.