The Last Voyage of the Demeter

Vampires are my favorite of all the movie monsters thanks to their specific rules that add an intrinsically cinematic flair. Boats are also an incredibly cinematic location because of how much precision is needed to keep them afloat. They must carefully tread water and be maintained well by a crew. The small segment of every Dracula story that has the creature on a boat has always been one of the most interesting moments to me, even if it often isn’t expanded upon. Demeter takes all the vampire rules and puts them into a slasher film that takes place on a boat. While the film is flawed, it delivers on its premise: Dracula is indeed on a boat.

Andre Øverdal has directed quite a few really strong horror films of varying subgenres, from the found footage film Troll Hunter to the one-room supernatural Autopsy of Jane Doe. He has risen up the ranks to get a decently-sized budget here, and does a great job in directing Demeter. The film is visually fantastic and is drenched in a palpable atmosphere. For instance, the production design is terrific, with the Demeter being a fully realized ship. Øverdal understands that the scale of the boat must be clear to the audience in order for the film and its many sequences to work. The film also has an impeccable soundscape. There’s a key scene that takes place on a foggy rowboat in which you can hear Dracula’s wings flapping before you actually see him, and in scenes like these the film soars. 

The cast is also pretty rock solid, even if they are underwritten. I found Corey Hawkins to make an impression as the lead here. He has a strong screen presence and a lot of charisma. David Dastmalachian also does good work here and gets a solid little character arc that I appreciated. The other standout here is Woody Norman who turns in a solid performance. Norman is a promising young actor, and what is done with him here is bold but respectable.

Alas, there are a few flaws in the film that hold it back from truly coming into its own. The film runs at nearly two hours and could easily be cut down. The story is fairly simplistic and just does not merit the runtime. It gets repetitive in its second act, which I think could have been fixed by a shorter runtime. It is just not paced well, and this is exacerbated by how deadly seriously the film takes itself. This is a film that works in moments rather than as a whole, but some of those moments are really fun. Had this been a runtime of eighty minutes, I feel that I’d be a lot more lenient on it. I also feel that the film’s ending hurts the film and neglects the film’s premise. That being said, it does lead to a fun moment that I absolutely enjoyed.

Despite the film using some cool practical effects, it still relies a bit heavily on some poor CGI. I’m not sure if the water was CGI, since it looked pretty great, but there was some distractingly poor CGI fire. At times Dracula would look great, often when he is clearly an actor in a suit. However, when the vampire is done with CGI, he just looks off. 

The film has been in development hell for around twenty years, and it sure does feel like it. The film absolutely feels as if it came out in the 2000s, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, it is disappointing that many of the film’s characters are portrayed as fodder for Dracula. A lot of these characters lack the nuance that make the best slasher films interesting. The film has a wonderful premise that is hard to mishandle, but it never gets to the heights that it has the potential to reach.

I typically prefer interpretations of Dracula or vampire in general to have a bit more swagger and poise. They can have a sensual flair to them that I find rather compelling. In The Last Voyage of the Demeter, however, Dracula is portrayed closer to a primal force over anything else. This is a choice that I think hurts the film and makes Dracula a less interesting presence. While I understand making the famous vampire a beastial presence to make Dracula scarier to audiences, I think this choice took away some of Dracula’s essence.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a bit of a mixed bag, but it has a few moments that make it worth checking out. The film works because of strong direction from Øverdal with an atmosphere that really elevates it, making it an enjoyable theatrical experience. The film did exactly what I expected it to and left me feeling relatively satisfied. It is worth taking a voyage on the Demeter if you think the premise has a bite to it.

6/10