THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER (2023)

Studio:   Universal/Dreamworks
Director: Andre Ovredal
Writer:   Bragi Schut Jr., Zak Olkewicz
Producer: Bradley J. Fischer, Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer
Stars:    Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, David Dastmalchian, Javier Botet, Liam Cunningham, Jon Jon Briones, Chris Walley, Stefan Kapicic

Review Score:

Summary:

Dracula secretly stalks a ship's crew as the legendary vampire makes his initial journey from Romania to England in 1897.

Synopsis:     

Review:

No doubt, it's a challenging undertaking to keep any longstanding pop culture property relevant, let alone one that's existed for over 125 years. That's why I appreciate when fresh-eyed creators come in to take big swings, or at least take comparatively unorthodox approaches, with creations that have subsisted on stagnation for far too long.

Yet I simultaneously worry that when these re-imaginings or new takes land with a thud, the people in charge might learn the wrong lessons regarding why an audience didn't respond. That's what bums me out about the commercial failure of "The Last Voyage of the Demeter." Someone finally said, "You know what, we've seen a million movies with Dracula as a seductive aristocrat paired with pretty women and hypnotized lackeys. How about we make him a monster again and crank up the creature aspect instead?" Sounds awesome. Except now that this version of that idea bombed at the box office, producers will probably retreat to the same old capes, castles, and coffins next time we see Dracula back on the big screen.

Not that "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" necessarily deserved a better reception. It's almost exceptional on an execution level, with moody lighting, assured acting, and striking scenery making this 2023 film look somewhat similar to a classic Universal Monster period piece from 90 years earlier. Working against those outstanding technical achievements, "Demeter" paints itself into a disappointingly dull corner by echoing an all-too-familiar story, even if its animalistic incarnation of fiction's most famous vampire is one seldom seen.

To start with, "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" lifts its story from a highly memorable section of Bram Stoker's seminal novel. That's not a problem in and of itself, although deja vu isn't helped any by just three years separating this adaptation from 2020's excellent BBC/Netflix "Dracula" miniseries that devoted a full 90-minute chapter to telling the exact same tale.

Even if you didn't read the book, and even if you didn't watch the miniseries, opening text still kicks off the film by revealing the ending. In explaining that "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" recounts the ill-fated journey of the ship that originally transported the cursed count from Romania to England, we're immediately told, "When the ship arrived, it was derelict." On top of that, the prologue that follows then depicts the discovery of the Demeter wrecked on some rocks with no survivors onboard. Even if the title didn't already spoil the outcome, the film does its damnedest to ensure you know how it concludes before it even begins.

Knowing Dracula ultimately slaughters everyone does supposed suspense no favors. Neither does confining all action to a solitary schooner at sea, basically putting all ten of the Demeter's passengers into a box where they've nothing else to do except wait for their turn on the automated abattoir line. Theoretically, there should be terror implied by the "no escape" setup combined with the "evil can strike at any time" scenario. As events play out, the when and the where of indistinct deckhands dying becomes irrelevant, and viewers already know who is responsible and why, meaning there's no gripping mystery to sink one's fangs into.

"The Last Voyage of the Demeter" subsequently falls into a predictable pattern of a certain amount of minutes passing before Dracula spends scant seconds slashing another throat in the dark. The closest the film comes to a substantial theme consists of a minor thread where main character Clemens encounters bigotry as a Black doctor in the 19th century, though even that is little more than routine animosity with a tacked-on two minutes of monologuing late in the movie. The other 114 minutes mostly consist of waiting for the next figure to fall. That's a lot of time to fill, and "Demeter" fills it with all the urgency of sand slowly dribbling inside a globe-sized hourglass.

Beginning with its nasty Nosferatu, I desperately wanted to admire "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" for its ambitious production design, atypical setting, and smorgasbord of European accents lending a lick of old-school horror flavor. But a relative indistinctness to the story, repetitive kills, and a mostly mediocre Bear McCreary score fail to light a flame that can burn brightly. There's a little to look at, yet not nearly as much to leave permanent puncture wounds.

Too bad this ship strayed off course. We're now doomed like the Demeter's crew, except our curse will be another untold number of years where we solely see Dracula as handsome royalty who only occasionally takes the fearsome form of the killer beast glimpsed here. Back to safer storytelling harbors it is then.

Review Score: 55