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The Last Voyage of the Demeter sat in development purgatory for roughly two decades, cycling through various filmmakers and actors to breathe life into Bragi Schut Jr.’s original script, an adaptation of “The Captain’s Log” chapter from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. The eerie chapter comes early in the novel, set over high seas, and chronicles the horror through news and the ship Captain’s journals. With characters’ fates predetermined, the question becomes whether an adaptation could harbor any surprises for savvy audiences. Luckily, director André Øvredal and screenwriter Zak Olkewicz focus on the journey over the destination, mining it for chills through experiential terror.
The merchant ship Demeter gets chartered to carry private cargo from Carpathia to London. British physician Henry Clemens (Corey Hawkins) earns a spot on board, much to first mate Wojchek’s (David Dastmalchian) chagrin, due to saving Captain Eliot’s (Liam Cunningham) sweet grandson Toby (Woody Norman) from a horrific accident on the dock. While the Captain and his grandson take to Clemens, the rest of the crew do not. The tensions get exacerbated by the discovery of a stowaway, Anna (Aisling Franciosi), who is found unconscious and near death. But the bad luck of a woman on board pales in comparison to the inhuman menace, Dracula (Javier Botet), who is stalking the ship and picking off its inhabitants.
(from left) Wojchek (David Dastmalchian), Abrams (Chris Walley) and Clemens (Corey Hawkins) in The Last Voyage of the Demeter, directed by André Øvredal.
From the outset, Øvredal infuses Demeter with a sense of epic-sized adventure. Edward Thomas’ impressive production design brings personality to the ship itself, introduced on the Carpathian docks as an awe-inspiring, larger-than-life schooner with a sense of lived-in history. The sprawling gothic ship is Captain Eliot’s pride and joy, save for his beloved grandson, and he’s looking to pass it to his second in command after he completes this final mission. Through the ornate practical sets and Cunningham’s wise, gentle eyes, the Demeter becomes a character in itself.
Øvredal takes full advantage of Demeter’s breathtaking set pieces, capturing them in wide shots to impart scale on an open sea of possibilities and promise. The more Dracula ramps up his carnage, the narrower the ship becomes. The open waters leave the crew trapped on board with a man-eating monster, and Øvredal instills claustrophobic dread by gradually reducing the scale. Expansive, sunny shots give way to increasingly oppressive corridors below deck. The camera personifies Dracula’s predatory tactics by mirroring his cornering of prey.
Demeter also impresses in the way that it keeps familiar iconography from the source material while filling in the narrative gaps. In a story where we already know the outcome for Dracula, it’s the new characters that inject a welcome level of unpredictability. Clemens becomes not just the audience proxy for the tale but the perfect foil for Dracula. They’re two sides of the same coin, both outsiders of society and not by choice. There’s a hard-earned and world-weary level of patience and warmth in Hawkins’ performance that instills empathy and rooting interest for Clemens straightaway. That only strengthens through his interactions with the crew, particularly Clemens’ bond with Toby and the slow thawing between Clemens and the acerbic Wojchek.
Javier Botet as Nosferatu in The Last Voyage of the Demeter, directed by André Øvredal.
Javier Botet’s Dracula is ghoulishly creepy. The horror stalwart plays the iconic vampire unconventionally, like a vulnerable boogeyman unable to control himself. That vulnerability belies primal savagery. The deaths are brutal and gory; there’s nothing romantic about this depiction of the classic character, and Øvredal knows how to make the kills hurt the most. Respectably, the filmmaker makes excellent use of the film’s R-rating.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter can’t completely overcome the hurdle of its forgone conclusion, and a text-beholden coda doesn’t quite land, but the cast and crew ensure that it’s the journey that matters most. Rich world-building, impressive scale, a commitment to practical effects, and fully realized characters ground the increasingly claustrophobic, grim tale set at sea. Director Andre Øvredal ramps up the horror with regularity, once again demonstrating a talent for scare crafting, tension building, and breathless staging that transforms a familiar tale into an exhilarating horror adventure unafraid to go for the jugular.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter releases in theaters on August 11, 2023.
