Sherlock Holmes’ influence reaches far beyond Baker Street, echoing through stories steeped in mystery and shadow. One unexpected corner of this legacy can be found in Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)—a French adventure-horror film that blends folklore, political intrigue, and deduction in a way that feels like it could’ve stepped straight out of a Holmesian fever dream.
Brotherhood of the Wolf
The influence of Sherlock Holmes in film and television extends beyond the confines of Baker Street. The shadowy streets and enigmatic characters that populate these shows echo the world of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, yet they carve out their own distinct narratives, rich in mystery and intrigue. One such movie is Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001).
Brotherhood of the Wolf is a French adventure film directed by Christophe Gans, starring Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel.
The film opens during the French Revolution, and the Marquis d’Apcher is trapped inside a castle keep. By candlelight he writes his memoirs. The story flashes back to 1764, and to lush green hills and valleys, where a young woman is running for her life. She has blood on her hands and face—something is chasing her—a wild beast. She tries to climb on some rocks to escape but the beast takes her legs and drags her down. Over the next year, in the Gévaudan region of France, the beast takes more lives, and the people live in fear.
Two strangers arrive in the region—Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) and his Iroquois companion Mani (Mark Dacascos). Their mission is to capture the beast—which everyone believes is a wolf. However, they’re told the beast is bigger than a wolf and has no fear of firearms.
On the surface, Brotherhood of the Wolf may seem like a typical horror film. While that is partly true, there are many horror elements—in fact, one of the opening scenes is a homage to Jaws—as the plot unfolds, it becomes apparent this is a man-made mystery, with its tentacles stretching to the Royal Court and the Catholic Church in Rome.
It also could be argued that the story is a lurid and highly stylised re-version of The Hound of the Baskervilles. While Grégoire de Fronsac’s skills of deduction aren’t on par with Sherlock Holmes, as a man of science, it is clear he is cut from the same cloth.
Brotherhood of the Wolf is beautifully filmed, and the sets and costumes are exceptional. The beast was created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and is certainly more frightening than any depiction of the Baskerville Hound.
Beyond Baker Street
I’ve always been fascinated by the shadow cast by Sherlock Holmes—a figure so iconic that his influence seeps into unexpected corners of pop culture. Beyond Baker Street is where I chase those echoes. Whether it’s a villain who once faced Holmes or a story that feels like it should’ve, this series lets me explore the strange tributaries that flow from the great detective’s world.
If you’ve enjoyed this piece, you’ll find even more to explore in my book Baker Street: The Curious Case Files of Sherlock Holmes—a deep dive into 100+ years of Sherlock Holmes in print, film, television, and beyond. From Conan Doyle’s original stories to pastiches, parodies, and pop culture echoes, it’s a must-read for Holmes fans and curious minds alike.
David Foster is an Australian best-selling author who writes under the pen names James Hopwood, A.W. Hart, and Jack Tunney. Under the latter, he has contributed three titles to the popular Fight Card series. His short fiction has been published in over 50 publications worldwide, including by Clan Destine Press, Wolfpack Publishing, and Pro Se Productions, to name but a few. In 2015, he contributed to the multi-award-winning anthology Legends of New Pulp Fiction, published by Airship 27 Publishing.
Foster’s non-fiction work appeared in the award-winning Crime Factory Magazine, as well as contributing numerous articles exploring pulp fiction in popular culture to Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture, 1950 to 1980 (2017, PM Press) and Sticking It to The Man: Revolution and Counterculture in Pulp and Popular Fiction, 1950 to 1980 (2019, PM Press). He has also contributed articles on the ANZAC war experience to Remembrance (2024, Union Street 21).
Foster lives in the old Pentridge Prison Complex, behind high grey stone walls, in inner-suburban Melbourne, Australia.
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