{"id":40977,"date":"2023-09-06T14:23:22","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T18:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=40977"},"modified":"2023-09-06T14:26:20","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T18:26:20","slug":"the-last-voyage-of-the-demeter-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/06\/the-last-voyage-of-the-demeter-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last Voyage of The Demeter (2023)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s 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 Andr\u00e9 \u00d8vredal\u2019s interpretation of \u201cThe Last Voyage of The Demeter\u201d as well as\u2014well\u2014Dracula in general, are not empathetic, alluring figures. They\u2019re 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\u2019s Dracula.<\/p>\n

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Based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, \u201cThe Last Voyage of the Demeter\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Last Voyage of the Demeter\u201d is a story set within the roots of horror that we\u2019ve only come to know through one chapter of a book that\u2019s left to our imagination. If you\u2019ve ever seen \u201cThe Autopsy of Jane Doe<\/a>\u201d is a painfully claustrophobic and terrifying movie. \u00d8vredal transplants that in to \u201cThe Last Voyage\u201d 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 \u201cThe Last Voyage.\u201d He\u2019s 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\u2019t really be reasoned with.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cThe Last Voyage\u201d offering a truly horrifying and nightmarish version of a character that\u2019s 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. Andr\u00e9 \u00d8vredal injects surefire familiar story beats reminiscent of survival horror like \u201cIt! The Terror from Beyond Space\u201d and \u201cThe Thing,\u201d wherein the mostly male crew have to find a way to outwit and outmatch a predator that\u2019s vastly superior in every shape and form.<\/p>\n

Despite Botet\u2019s truly haunting portrayal of Dracula, folks like Liam Cunningham and David Dastmalchian are fantastic in supporting roles. There\u2019s 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 \u201cThe Last Voyage of the Demeter\u201d had been a huge hit; it\u2019s a great film and Andr\u00e9 \u00d8vredal is a master horror director who successfully realizes his vision here. It\u2019s just such a well executed, relentlessly grim, and creepy horror entry with a Dracula we\u2019ve never actually seen before.<\/p>\n