It’s pretty good to see at least one studio investing in transforming vampires in to relentless monsters once again after so many years where vampires have been watered down and overly fetishized. The vampires in André Øvredal’s interpretation of “The Last Voyage of The Demeter” as well as—well—Dracula in general, are not empathetic, alluring figures. They’re blank, cold and vicious monsters controlled by Dracula who is reduced to his most primal state for this re-visiting of one of the most haunting chapters in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, “The Last Voyage of the Demeter’ tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo–fifty unmarked wooden crates–from Carpathia to London. Strange events befall the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a merciless presence onboard the ship. When the Demeter finally arrives off the shores of England, it is a charred, derelict wreck. There is no trace of the crew.
“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” is a story set within the roots of horror that we’ve only come to know through one chapter of a book that’s left to our imagination. If you’ve ever seen “The Autopsy of Jane Doe” is a painfully claustrophobic and terrifying movie. Øvredal transplants that in to “The Last Voyage” which is set amidst a large ship amidst a massive ocean and yet every corner of begins to close in more and more gradually as Dracula spends much of his time lurking in corners, and feasting on random members of the ship. Dracula is no romantic figure in “The Last Voyage.” He’s instead a blank and animalistic parasite whose hunger is absolutely insatiable. His ability to feed on whomever and whatever he can becomes an instant menace as this version of Dracula can’t really be reasoned with.
This Dracula is a predator who delights in stalking and picking out his victims, even delighting in taunting them when they plead for mercy. Javier Botet (complimented by excellent make up effects) is the highlight of “The Last Voyage” offering a truly horrifying and nightmarish version of a character that’s often reduced to a sexual being. Dracula is never once depicted in human form, only rising as a winged predator and never allowing the audience to see him as anything else but a predator. André Øvredal injects surefire familiar story beats reminiscent of survival horror like “It! The Terror from Beyond Space” and “The Thing,” wherein the mostly male crew have to find a way to outwit and outmatch a predator that’s vastly superior in every shape and form.
Despite Botet’s truly haunting portrayal of Dracula, folks like Liam Cunningham and David Dastmalchian are fantastic in supporting roles. There’s also Corey Hawkins and Aisling Franciosi, both of whom lead the film with great dramatic weight and their personal stakes in this hopeless tale of doomed passengers. In many respects, I wish the writers had the guts to pull the trigger and eliminate the entirety of the crew members, but I appreciate what they were aiming for with the ultimate execution of the climax. I wish “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” had been a huge hit; it’s a great film and André Øvredal is a master horror director who successfully realizes his vision here. It’s just such a well executed, relentlessly grim, and creepy horror entry with a Dracula we’ve never actually seen before.