Film Review: The Last Voyage of the Demeter (Pigeon Shrine FrightFest)

If you are in the mood for an outstanding modern take on classic gothic horror cinema, you need look no further than The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Director André Øvredal has crafted a beautiful looking, finely acted, thrilling feature based on a single chapter from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.

Anyone familiar with the novel or many of its film versions knows that the ship Demeter and its crew are doomed, but Øvredal and screenwriters Bragi F. Schut and Zak Olkewicz do a splendid job of absorbing viewers for the length of the ill-fated 1897 journey. New characters are added — not all of whom are welcomed warmly by the more seasoned seafarers — including black doctor Clemens (Corey Hawkins), mysterious Roma character (no spoilers here) Anna (Aisling Franciosi) and captain’s grandson Toby (Woody Norman). The top-notch group of cast members does a fantastic job of getting viewers invested in those characters and the crew members, including Liam Cunningham as Captain Eliot and David Dastmalchian as First Mate Wojchek. 

The big question for many potential viewers may well be, “But what about Dracula?”. The character is portrayed here more in the Max Schreck Nosferatu vein by Javier Botet, who is well known for his superb cinematic portrayals of monsters and other horrific creatures. This vampire — credited as Dracula/Nosferatu — is a hideous, vicious, bloodthirsty beast, far from many of the character’s cinematic portrayals as a charming upper class man. His attacks are savage rather than seductive.

Øvredal, who knows well how to build suspense and bring on the creepiness (he helmed the excellent, chilling The Autopsy of Jane Doe [2016] and the fun creature feature Troll Hunter [2010), among other films], directs with verve. The set decoration is marvelous, and Tom Stern’s cinematography sumptuously captures the eerie proceedings.

Fans of the classic Universal monster movies should find plenty to enjoy with The Last Voyage of the Demeter. 

The Last Voyage of the Demeter screened as part of Pigeon Shrine FrightFest, which ran from August 22–26, 2024 in London, U.K. For more information, visit https://frightfest.co.uk/.

Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/). He also writes for the websites Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), B&S About Movies (bandsaboutmovies.com), The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict (gbvreviews.com), and Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom). 

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