Keeping its focus limited to “The Captain’s Log” chapter of Dracula, in which the eponymous vampire of Bram Stoker’s classic novel travels aboard a cargo ship from Romania to England, The Last Voyage of the Demeter continues Hollywood’s obsession with mining every piece of I.P. for potential gold. Though the film primarily sticks to the narrative framework laid out by Stoker, the perverse eroticism that typifies Dracula’s nocturnal violence in the novel and in most on-screen depictions has been effectively snuffed out.
Relegating Dracula mostly to the hull of the Demeter, André Øvredal’s film spends most of its running time observing the ship’s crew coming to the realization that a force of evil is on board with them. It all begins with the gruesome death of the Demeter’s livestock and the discovery of a sickly stowaway, Anna (Aisling Franciosi), with bite marks on her neck, after which the film gives itself over to seemingly ceaseless debates between the crew about what might actually be the cause of this violence and what they should do to put an end to it.
Most of the men on board the ship are determined to continue on to England and earn the bonus awaiting them if they arrive early. But other passengers, including Anna and Clemens (Corey Hawkins), a doctor carrying all sorts of personal baggage on this voyage, take the threat far more seriously—or, at least, more seriously than the film treats the matter of a Black doctor in a racist time. So much time is devoted to the characters pondering and quarreling over what’s on the ship with them that The Last Voyage of the Demeter seems almost perversely determined to make the audience feel as if they, too, have been at sea for over a week.
Whenever Dracula, a muggy-looking CGI ghoulie that suggests a mishmash of a gargoyle and Gollum, visits the ship’s deck for a nightly feeding, targeting whoever is on guard at the moment, The Last Voyage of the Demeter suggests a gene splice of a slasher flick and supernatural horror. But as enticing as that combination may sound, Øvredal’s rendering of it is as bland and listless as the blues and grays that dominate the film’s color palette.
Despite the incessant talk of doom, The Last Voyage of the Demeter is, outside of a few brief bursts of violence that finds Dracula slicing and dicing a few of his victims while airborne, largely devoid of any palpable atmosphere or tension. But even these killings grow tiresome after a while, as they lack a distinct personality, especially given that, by a certain point, the soaring beast is so generic that it could just as easily be a vicious bird or demon.
As the Demeter’s ill-fated voyage comes to an end, it’s revealed that the opening flash-forward that declares that there were no survivors aboard the ship to be slightly misleading, shamelessly and unconvincingly setting up a sequel that few viewers will likely be clamoring for. A new rivalry is born, but in this moment, the scent of earth and blood that follows Dracula is replaced by that of money, and it smells an awful lot like a pure cash grab.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
