A Reel Review: THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER

Bram Stoker’s 1897 horror novel Dracula has served as ground zero for all screen interpretations of the famed vampire; from the 1931 classic with Bela Lugosi, to the gothic takes by Hammer Films, to Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 masterpiece. Dracula’s newest appearance on the big screen only focuses on one element of the book: The Captain’s Log chapter for THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER. 

Clemens (Corey Hawkins), a doctor, joins the crew of the Demeter, a ship en route from Bulgaria to London with mysterious cargo. Once at sea, Clemens, the Captain (Liam Cunningham), and the crew find themselves battling a bloodthirsty evil, an evil known as Dracula. 

Directed by Andre Ovredal, THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER plays out like a good ol’ fashioned horror/slasher flick, with crew members picked off one by one as the ship makes its way across the sea. It’s a closed-quarters terror that owes much of its DNA to ALIEN (1979), or even the films of the Hammer Studios collection. It is thin on plot and is a basic survival flick for all characters. 

Complexities arise on the voyage when Clemens discovers a stowaway on-board (Aisling Franciosi), who was to serve as a food source for Dracula during the trip. The presence of a woman on a sailing ship upsets the sailors, including the abrasive First Mate (David Dastmalchian). Characters collide frequently, with Clemens seemingly the only good guy of the bunch. Eventually the characters stop going after each other’s throats once they start facing the terror on board who seems to like throats himself. It’s a little by-the-numbers, but workable. 

Director Andre Ovredal, who has dabbled in horror with success, brings about a great sense of claustrophobia aboard the ship. At sea, there’s nowhere to run to, and the cramped quarters below decks give the film a very un-nerving feel. The gore is there, but feels like it was pulled back in many places, although the death of the Captain’s young nephew comes as a shock. If we’re grading the film on scariness and atmosphere, it does work.  Ovredal keeps the voyage moving well, although there are some editing issues; characters often take way too long to run from one end of the ship to the other, and the second act gets bogged down from too much repetitive exposition. Visual effects are impressive, including Dracula appearing in his man-bat form, and the Demeter herself is done so well that the ship is basically a character in the film. 

Acting is excellent. Corey Hawkins carries the film on his shoulders, and Aisling Franciosi matches him nicely. David Dastmalchian and Liam Cunningham are very good, as is young Woody Norman, who plays the Captain’s doomed nephew. 

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER does not give us a lot to sink our teeth into, but it does satisfy a thirst for a basic horror flick. Just like the chapter of the novel it is based on, it is meant to get Dracula from one place to another, and despite knowing how it has to end, still makes for a worthwhile journey. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it