Edward was a little confused—he didn't even know who this so-called film critic "Frank Doyle" was. Why would this person's follower drop have anything to do with him?
But after clicking in and reading the post, Edward finally understood—Frank losing followers did have something to do with him.
A bold, enlarged review headline jumped out at him:
[Not Suitable for Minors to Watch]
Edward's mouth twitched. Well yeah, his horror films were never meant for kids to begin with. This was like taking a child to see Alien and then blaming the movie for being too scary. Anyone with half a brain would know such a bloody horror film wasn't made for children.
Letting kids watch it only to have them cry in fear and disrupt other audience members? That was on the parents. Still, Edward had never really considered this situation seriously. After all, the majority of his viewers were adults. Adults could think for themselves and make responsible choices. Who in their right mind would bring a four- or five-year-old to a horror movie? Even a teenager was pushing it.
And yet, Frank had taken a completely different angle and used this point to attack him.
Edward felt a bit helpless. He could already tell—this Frank was just looking for things to criticize. Still, as a film critic, the man did know a thing or two. Some of the issues he pointed out were genuine minor flaws in Edward's films.
"Formulaic? Template-driven? Come on, I've only made three films and you're already calling it formulaic?" Edward sighed as he scrolled through the critique. Still, he couldn't really deny it—most horror movies could be broken down into a repeatable formula. Haunted house films especially were often just the same soup in a different bowl.
Western horror might seem fresh at first, but after watching enough of them, that novelty fades fast. Hollywood blockbusters were notorious for being made with cookie-cutter templates.
Haunted house films in particular all followed similar plot beats: slightly different ways to provoke the ghosts, but everything else stayed the same. There was always one parent who didn't believe in ghosts, a child who sees them first, and a pet who senses the supernatural but gets yelled at by the owner.
It wasn't until James Wan came along that American horror films got some new twists. But even Wan's work clearly carried strong East Asian horror influences. In a way, he simply transplanted the East Asian horror formula to Western soil.
"Forget it." Edward set his phone down. He wasn't going to waste more time on a random film critic.
He understood clearly: no matter how good a movie was, it couldn't please everyone. People had all sorts of tastes. Out of ten people, maybe five would like a film, and five would hate it. Trying to make something universally loved was impossible.
Even back in his past life, Hi, Mom—a pure emotional drama—didn't win over everyone. So how could a horror film?
"Might as well write the script instead," Edward yawned and climbed into bed with his tablet. He planned to finish writing the plot for Sherlock Holmes Season Two tonight.
For the first episode, he chose "A Scandal in Bohemia"—one of the few cases where Holmes was bested. This story held an important place in the Holmes canon. In some adaptations, Irene Adler even had a romantic subplot with Holmes, which was still within reason. What wasn't reasonable were the versions where Watson was gender-swapped and started having heart-to-hearts with Holmes about life and love.
From the original author's standpoint, those interpretations were downright outrageous.
"What about Episodes 2 and 3..." Edward scratched his head. How should he write them?
"Maybe I don't need to stick too rigidly to the original stories... Some original mysteries could work too. Like the classic Murder on the Orient Express." Edward's eyes lit up.
As one of Agatha Christie's most iconic works, Orient Express was highly respected among detective fiction fans. It also adapted well into a feature-length film, and since his Sherlock Holmes episodes were each around 90 minutes, it would be a perfect fit.
He could add a few details too—like Holmes boarding the train en route to another case, only to get caught up in this one along the way.
"So, Episode 2 will be Murder on the Orient Express," he muttered. "As for Episode 3..."
Edward remembered another great story—this time from the manga world.
"The Kindaichi Case Files."
This Japanese series, which competed alongside Detective Conan in the mystery genre, ultimately lost out to Conan in popularity. However, in terms of pure deduction, Kindaichi was more focused and sophisticated.
Most of the characters and plotlines existed purely to support the mystery. From a deductive standpoint, Edward would pick Kindaichi over Conan any day.
The case he had in mind was the "Village of the Strange Dolls Murder Case."
The trick involved assembling several dismembered bodies to create a fake corpse, allowing one person to fake their death and escape. It was an ingenious misdirection, and even inspired a similar trick in a TV series.
Edward had been shocked the first time he saw it. While the case included some debatable emotional twists—like the killer murdering his own girlfriend for revenge—it remained a solid story. Despite the controversy, Edward decided to keep the original plot. Let the audience decide for themselves; at least it would spark discussion.
"So here's the plan: Holmes receives a commission at 221B Baker Street to investigate the legend of a mummified guardian in a remote village. On his way there, he boards a train and ends up solving Murder on the Orient Express. When that's done, he arrives at the village and takes on the Village of the Strange Dolls Murder Case."
"Through all of this, Holmes begins uncovering clues about the presence of Malamar. In A Scandal in Bohemia, he learns of a mastermind behind the scenes. In Orient Express, he discovers the Malamar's true identity. And in the village, he realizes Malamar orchestrated most of the cases." Edward nodded with satisfaction.
This structure seemed solid. Now it was time to polish the scripts and begin casting.
Old cast members like Daniel didn't need replacing. But for the role of Irene Adler...
Edward pulled out his phone and sent a message to Diantha. He had promised her a role in this new season.
(End of Chapter)
Author's Note:
(Conan had some solid mystery work in its early days, but later entries leaned more into explosions and flashy action, reducing the emphasis on deduction.)
(Kindaichi, as a traditional deduction manga, stayed more faithful to its mystery roots. From a pure mystery-writing standpoint, it was the stronger of the two.)
(Still, in the grand scheme of things, Conan came out on top.)
If you're interested in mystery stories, give The Kindaichi Case Files a try. Some of its spin-offs, like The Killer's Case Files, are also worth checking out.