Movie Review: 'The Last Voyage of the Demeter'

Knowing my penchant for horror, it may surprise you to learn that I’ve never read Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Of all the classic horror novels that inspired most of the Universal Monsters and beyond, the only one I’ve read is Frankenstein. Rest assured, I do plan to rectify this hole in my horror literature lexicon during the upcoming spooky season.As even non-horror fans are aware, Dracula has been translated to the screen in many differing ways, some of which hew pretty close to the book. Yet, one section of the novel has gotten the short shrift: The Count’s trip to England. In most adaptations it’s simply that the ship leaves port, then crashes to shore with a dead/missing crew, that is if it’s even mentioned in the movie, at all. Finally, a new film, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, seeks to fill that gap.As the Demeter is preparing to load a cargo of crates from a mysterious benefactor, Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) and his first mate, Wojchek (David Dastmalchian) go looking for some new crew to fill out what they have. They find Clemens (Corey Hawkins), a British doctor willing to be a deck hand.Strange occurrences happen once they’re at sea, beginning with the slaughter of the animals they plan to use for food. While investigating a noise in the hold, Clemens discovers a sickly young woman named Anna (Aisling Franciosi). The crew first believes her to be a stowaway, but once Clemens heals her, they learn she was a prisoner of a beast known to her village as Dracula (Javier Botet). It’s this beast that soon begins feasting upon the crew one by one.Directed by André Øvredal and clearly inspired by Alien, The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a slow burn, claustrophobic atmosphere piece punctuated by occasional gouts of blood. It’s nowhere near as good as its inspiration, but it has its own merits that might appeal to some.The film suffers mostly from the seen-it-before problem created by the slew of Alien retreads we’ve had over the past forty-four years. That, and basically knowing the outcome beforehand, tends to eliminate most of the overarching tension.Yet, what Øvredal and his cast do pretty well is create tension within individual moments. Since this is practically a new story within the well-known tale, you can’t always be one hundred percent certain of characters’ fates. Will it be at the hands of Dracula or another crew member as tensions rise?Øvredal and his design team have done a great job creating the feel of being on an old schooner. They’ve also done a commendable job recreating a Hammer Films-like atmosphere, in all its period glory.The effects are none too shabby, either. When Dracula attacks, he causes a lot of damage to his victims. In addition, the design of the vampire is quite frightening, with his look being a kind of like that of Count Orlok from Nosferatu or, for a more contemporary comparison, Kurt Barlow from the 1979 miniseries version of Salem’s Lot, which was itself modeled on Orlok.The Last Voyage of the Demeter won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, but for fans of the genre and the novel might find some enjoyment here.Post-Credit Lowdown:No post-credit scene.