The new film The Last Voyage of the Demeter uses an enormous amount of artistic license in portraying what happened on the ill-fated ship during Dracula’s journey from Romania to England. Does the movie suck? Let’s find out.
This film is allegedly based on “The Captain’s Log” chapter from Bram Stoker’s 1897 Dracula novel. But, to be clear, no such chapter exists in the book. There is an excerpt from the “Log of the Demeter” in Chapter VII, but director André Øvredal and screenwriters Bragi F. Schut and Zak Olkewicz imagine a lot of missing details from said voyage.
This updated story features the character of Clemens, played by Corey Hawkins, a young, black doctor trying to make his way to England. After saving the Demeter’s Captain’s grandson, Toby (Woody Norman), from being crushed, Clemens is given permission to join the ship’s company. The era’s racism is barely touched on at all.
Soon after setting sail, strange things begin to happen onboard the vessel. A catatonic woman is found in a crate of dirt and all of the ships animals, food for the long journey, are killed with their throats ripped open; nevertheless, the ship’s Captain (Liam Cunningham) sails on, full speed ahead.
The crew begins to die at the hands and/or gnarly teeth of a mysterious beast that is loose upon the vessel. It’s basically Dracula on a boat, which is a decent enough concept, given the inherent claustrophobia that comes with that scenario. The problem is that once you’ve seen one vampire movie, they are all pretty much the same.
The Dracula monster (Javier Botet) depicted in this version is pretty awesome and looks like a cross between the old school Nosferatu and some of the winged vampires we’ve seen before. For sure the creature is the best thing the film has going for it.
As with most films of this type, it takes itself a little too seriously and is completely void of any humor. I get it that it’s not a comedy, but comedic relief is never a bad thing. The Last Voyage of the Demeter is not bad, but in the end it’s just another run-of-the-mill vampire movie.
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