Based on Chapter 7 (aka “The Captain’s Log”) in Bram Stoker’s 1897 classic horror novel “Dracula,” “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” was expanded by writers Bragi F. Schut (“Escape Room”) and Zak Olkewicz (“Bullet Train”) into a full-length feature directed by Norwegian filmmaker Andre Ovredal of the sublime 2010 entry “Troll Hunter.” The film is brought to us by Universal Pictures, the studio that made its name with its Golden Age of Horror in the 1930s. That all sounds great, right?
Well, the results are mixed at best. The action begins with the discovery of a wreck on the shores of Whitby, England in 1897, its masts shattered, sails in rags. Cut to four weeks earlier and the Demeter, a cargo vessel under the command of the soon-to-retire Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham, “Game of Thrones”), is loading a shipment of 50 large crates to convey from Wallachia to London.
One of the crates breaks free and almost kills a boy named Toby (Woody Norman), the Captain’s grandson. Toby’s rescuer Mr. Clemens (Corey Hawkins, “The Walking Dead”) is a real anomaly. He’s an Oxford-educated Black man seeking, and as a reward receiving, employment as the ship’s doctor. Once underway, it soon becomes clear that something malevolent is onboard the Demeter and hunting its crew. It begins when Mr. Clemens discovers the still living body of a young woman named Anna (Aisling Franciosi, “The Nightingale”), who was inside one of the crates along with some dirt.
Also inside one of the crates is a merciless, blood-sucking monster. Notably, the Dracula in this film never resembles the Gary Oldman of Francis Coppola’s lavish “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992) or Christopher Lee from “The Horror of Dracula” (1958). The creature resembles the rat-like monster from F.W. Murnau’s landmark1922 silent film “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” and Werner Herzog’s 1979 remake with frequent Herzog collaborator Klaus Kinski in the title role.
“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” soon settles into a rehash of that stuck-aboard-a-ship-with-a-monster classic “Alien” (1979) with make-up and other design derived from the 1992 Coppola cult favorite. Played by the long, tall monster-movie specialist Javier Botet (“The Mummy”), the naked creature in the film hides in the shadows and strikes with lightning-like speed illogically splashing much of its prey’s blood across the ship’s woodwork. The creature later grows bat’s wings.
Unlike Tod Browning’s “Dracula” (1931), “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” has no raving Renfield (Dwight Frye) giggling in the hold. The action boils down to a game of dead men walking. Crew members are difficult to differentiate. Even David Dastmalchian is lost among the talking beards. Hawkins is fine, but Clemens and the Captain have no idea what to do, and we can see where this is headed. Doomed crew members wander about calling out each other’s names in the dark. Can we do this for two hours? Schut and Olkewicz fail to exploit one of the most terrifying elements of “Alien.”
Instead, they give us a dopey, “Heeere’s Johnny,” moment out of “The Shining” (1980). The doctor revives victims with crude-looking blood transfusions. In an “Odyssey”/”Dracula” mash-up, one victim is tied to the main mast just before the sun rises. Back away. Lacking a Van Helsing-type on board (Why not?), no one knows how to kill a vampire. Cinematography by Roman Osin (“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”) and the great Tom Stern (“Mystic River”) is a genuine strong suit. The film is a darkly enchanting vision of nautical horror. But plot-wise this “Demeter” is just plain dumb.
(“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” contains extreme violence and gruesome images)
“The Last Voyage of the Demeter”
Rated R. At the AMC Boston Common, AMC South Bay and suburban theaters. Grade: B-
