By John Corrado

★★ (out of 4)

Based on a chapter from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a vampire horror movie that takes place aboard a merchant ship in 1897, and fleshes out the backstory of the doomed voyage carrying Count Dracula.

The Demeter is a Russian schooner that is travelling from Transylvania to London. Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) is preparing for this to be his last voyage, before giving over the captain’s duties to his first mate Wojchek (David Dastmalchian).

When the ship ports in Bulgaria, several crew members get spooked and refuse to get back on board when they see the mysterious wooden crates that the ship is carrying. A few locals are hired to complete the voyage, including the highly educated young doctor Clemens (Corey Hawkins).

But after finding an unconscious female stowaway (Aisling Franciosi) onboard who is in need of a blood transfusion, strange things start happening aboard the ship. The crew members, alongside the captain’s grandson Toby (C’mon C’mon‘s Woody Norman), soon find themselves being stalked by a hellish version of Dracula (Javier Botet), who comes out at night to feed on blood.

Directed by Norwegian filmmaker André Øvredal (The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark), The Last Voyage of the Demeter starts off with the somewhat interesting premise of fleshing out this single chapter from Dracula (Chapter 7, to be precise, The Captain’s Log), but the execution is a bit of a mixed bag. There are a few jumps here and there, and the foggy visuals do give it a generally eery atmosphere, which is heightened by Tom Stern’s moody cinematography and an ominous score by Bear McCreary.

We get some grisly images, including the monstrous character design of Dracula, who is more demonic bat-like creature than human Count. But the pretty thin story is too drawn out at two hours, and it ends up feeling a bit dull. Setting a horror movie on a ship in the middle of the ocean with no means of escape is a pretty good gimmick. But since we basically already know the outcome, the film struggles to build as much genuine suspense or tension as it needs to. It settles instead on a basic dreariness, with a tone that feels overly po-faced for B-movie entertainment.

Bonus Features (Blu-ray):

The Blu-ray includes a decent selection of bonus features, including deleted scenes and three “behind the scenes” featurettes. A regular DVD is also included in the package, which ships with a slipcover.

• Alternate Opening (2 minutes, 24 seconds): A different opening scene, presented with optional commentary by director André Øvredal and producer Bradley J. Fischer.

• Deleted Scenes (Play All – 11 minutes, 49 seconds): A selection of moments cut from the film, again presented with optional commentary by Øvredal and Fischer.

• Clemens Picking Up a Stone in Varna (30 seconds)

• Bosphorus and Constantinople (50 seconds)

• Clemens Following Huck’s Blood Trail (2 minutes, 32 seconds)

• Clemens and Anna Talk on Deck (2 minutes, 24 seconds)

• Crew Discuss Where the Beast is Hiding (24 seconds)

• Finding the Corpses in the Crate (2 minutes, 6 seconds)

• Wojchek Finds the Captain (1 minute, 20 seconds)

• Clemens Visits His Father’s Grave (1 minute, 40 seconds)

• From the Pits of Hell: Dracula Reimagined (7 minutes, 11 seconds): Looks at the hellish design of Dracula, and how Spanish creature performer Javier Botet played him on set in a full bodysuit, aided by visual effects.

• Evil is Aboard: The Making of The Last Voyage of the Demeter (10 minutes, 44 seconds): A general look at the production, including filming in Malta, the extensive makeup effects, and building a giant ship.

• Dracula & the Digital Age (8 minutes, 34 seconds): Visual effects supervisor Brad Parker takes us through the surprising number of digital effects shots in the film, with blue screens being used for most of the backdrops (we learn that some shots of the ship on the water are almost entirely digital).

• Feature Commentary with Director André Øvredal and Producer Bradley J. Fischer

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a Universal Pictures Home Entertainment release. It’s 119 minutes and rated 14A.

Street Date: October 17th, 2023