The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
A film inspired by a single chapter of the famous Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Laura’s Rating: 3/5 Stars
Plot: The crew of a ship called Demeter set sail from Carpathia to London with several crates of unknown cargo. Not far into the journey, animals turn up dead and the crew learns that they are not alone on the ship.
Opinion: This film has its share of both strengths and weaknesses. To start, the atmosphere is 10/10 the whole time. I felt like I was authentically in the time period of the story and the lighting, shadows, and weather create the perfect ominous backdrop for the story.
The movie was definitely a bit slow and could be shorter in my opinion. But at the same time, I wanted more lore and backstory. As someone who has read the original source of Dracula, I did have a bit more context than the average viewer. Yet I still found certain parts to be confusing- for example, it took me a while to remember what the deal was with the crates of dirt. Especially without being familiar with the source material, that would have been quite confusing.
Many interpretations of Dracula portray him as a man with supernatural powers and I tend to prefer the character as more humanoid. This film however, shows Dracula as more of a creature, which although not my preference, was admittedly pretty scary looking.
The movie was unexpectedly a bit sad and serious despite the horror setup. I ended up really caring about some of the characters, and seeing as this is a vampire movie, I was rather sad to see them meet their end. The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a unique take on a classic tale. I think the editing and focus could’ve used a bit of work, but it was an enjoyable watch.
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