Dracula’s unholy presence dooms the crew of the merchant ship Demeter as it sails from Carpathia to London.
“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” is based on a chapter from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, ‘Dracula,’ where John Seward, a doctor who manages an asylum in England, is studying a patient of his named Renfield and his peculiar behavior. He receives in his office a packet of papers and a logbook from a ship called the “Demeter.” The diary chronicles the crew’s ill-fated voyage from Varna, a port on the Black Sea, to Whitby, England, after a series of mysterious events leaves the ship derelict.
That is where the film begins. The year is 1897, and after loading fifty unmarked wooden crates onto the Demeter, Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) and his crew leave Carpathia and set sail for London. The first few days pass by smoothly, but one night, after the ship’s livestock, including the crew’s beloved dog, are all found dead and drained of blood, tensions begin to mount. One by one, the crew mysteriously vanishes every day after the sun goes down, with no trace left behind. As the food and water supplies run out, some crew members report seeing a strange creature on the ship’s deck. With only one day left until they reach the English coastline, the captain and the remaining crew members frantically search the entire vessel, hoping to kill the beast before darkness envelops the ship once more.
While it took Peter Jackson three extended feature films to bring Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ to life, three unnecessarily long movies that were based on a book that was only 304 pages long, director André Øvredal takes one chapter from Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and adapts it into a two-hour film, infusing it with genuine tension, scares galore, and more than enough blood and guts to satisfy even the most voracious horror fan.
Setting a movie in one location can be challenging; the trick is to keep the story fresh and moving forward at all times, as staying in the same spot for too long can get tedious. Thankfully, the filmmakers build a ship that is so big accompanying the various characters throughout the story takes no effort on our behalf as every section of the vessel is explored throughout the movie, adding something fresh at every turn and never giving us enough time to become satiated.
When we first meet Dracula, he is withered and emaciated, but as he feeds on the ship’s livestock and eventually the crew, he gradually transforms into a full-fledged being, his strength increasing with every drop of blood. Dracula himself is an amalgamation of CGI and practical effects, and the film combines the two almost flawlessly. Director André Øvredal wisely chooses to keep the creature in the shadows, but as we near the film’s denouement, we see more of him and his CGI exterior, but it never takes away from the film’s overall enjoyment.
The cast does well in their respective roles, with Corey Hawkins taking on the central role of a doctor trying to make his way back to London and discovering the horrors beneath the Demeter’s deck. “Game of Thrones” alumni Liam Cunningham and Aisling Franciosi do exceptionally well with their characters as they are given the most development, along with Mr. Hawkins. While I had no issue with Dracula’s presentation, some have likened him more to a gargoyle than a human, but every movie adaptation will take dramatic license with their interpretation, and I found the creature to be scarier than a human running around killing people. Once he regains his full strength, he looks almost human, witnessed in the film’s final scene.
The movie is left open for a sequel, and I think a new vampire hunter, who is not Abraham Lincoln, might be fun, but the studio will have to wait on the film’s box office returns to see if they can move forward if that is something they even want to do. I really enjoyed “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” and would be happy with it being a solo outing, but this being Hollywood, I wouldn’t put it past them the greenlight a sequel. Let’s wait and see.
In Theaters Friday, August 11th
