“The Last Voyage of The Demeter” Review
Dracula stalks the crew of a ship making its way to London in “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” which is based on a portion of Bram Stoker’s immortal novel.
Do you ever love the idea behind a film more than the actual film itself? This is the case for “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” because, while the premise of the film sounds like an ingenious idea, the overall execution left something to be desired. Namely, a nail-biting feeling of suspense to make this contained creature-feature work.
Based on a section of Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula,” the film follows the crew of The Demeter, a ship that has been commissioned to transport valuable crates from a mysterious client in Romania to Carfax Abbey in London. When the ship’s livestock begins to die, a mysterious young woman (Aisling Franciosi) appears in the cargo hold and crew members begin to disappear in the night, the ship’s captain, doctor and first mate (Corey Hawkins, Liam Cunningham and David Dastmalchian) begin to realize that the purest form of evil is on board with them in Count Dracula (Javier Botet). Alone at sea, the dwindling crew must try to fight off the monstrous vampire or else never see land again.
The idea of this film is amazing. By taking the Dracula story and mythos and turning it into a film along the lines of “Alien” or “The Thing,” it could result in a masterful horror film. With a strong atmosphere, director André Øvredal creates an immersive world that inspires all of the gloom associated with this kind of gothic story. However, the biggest fault is that the film is simply not that scary. With a few fun jumpscares, the amount of frights is limited.
In “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” Dracula was shown way too much when having him secluded in the shadows would have been much more frightening. The film also seems to be incapable of deciding whether its depiction of the famous vampire is to be more animalistic or capable of greater strategy and emotion. Since the film is only based on one portion of the novel, perhaps the filmmakers wanted to be faithful to the book’s depiction of Dracula as an intelligent being. However, I would argue that, in the context of a self-contained story, having Dracula be a complete animal incapable of reason and solely motivated by his bloodlust would have worked. Instead, the film tries to offer the best of both worlds.
The film also doesn’t have the kind of tension that does justice to the premise. There are certain elements of the story that aren’t focused on enough like the dwindling sanity of the crew or the growing tensions between each other. I honestly prefer when the story focuses on the crew with the knowledge that Dracula is somewhere on board and can strike at any time. When the film is trying to set up a character’s death, it feels too obvious and the kills feel toned down despite an R-rating.
Along with the incredible atmosphere, the film’s acting is what makes “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” worth watching. Corey Hawkins and Liam Cunningham are marvelous in their tough yet vulnerable roles. Aisling Francoisi is also quite strong as someone who you’re not quite sure of, especially where her loyalties are concerned. But I was especially engaged with David Dastmalchian’s performance as a no-nonsense first mate who must choose between duty and what is human.
I suppose “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” could be seen as a misfire. However, I liked this film just enough because I admire the premise, the world and the characters that inhabit it. It’s But if you’re looking for a suspenseful film that gives a new spin on the classic Dracula story, this film doesn’t quite make it to shore.
