The Last Voyage of the Demeter Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Last Voyage of the Demeter Blu-ray Movie Review

The Last Voyage of the Demeter arrives on Blu-ray from Universal. Bonus features include Deleted Scenes and an Alternate Opening, several "Making- Of" featurettes where both the cast and crew provide data and recollections from filming and post-production, and a feature-length commentary from Director André Øvredal (TrollHunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe) and Producer Bradley J. Fischer. A DVD, a Digital Copy, and a slipcover are also included.

Four-and-a-half pages. That's the volume of text of the captain's log in chapter 7 of Bram Stoker's Dracula on which the screenplay for The Last Voyage of the Demeter is based. In a handful of entries spanning July 6 through August 4 the captain chronicles an expedition that steadily and gradually transforms from the ordinary into the horrific. Details are sparse, but the tension is real and the doom the crew faces is inescapable. Most Dracula movies, from Nosferatu (1922) to Dracula (1931) to Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) and many in between, skim over Dracula's voyage from the old world to the new, if they address it all. However, it is in these scant pages that The Last Voyage of the Demeter spends the bulk of its 118-minute runtime.

The movie opens with the Demeter, a ghost ship, running aground in the English town of Whitby. The local constabulary boards and finds the deceased captain tied to the wheel and the rest of the crew, those they can actually find, horribly murdered. The only clue to the mystery and the carnage is the captain's log, the events of which begin to play out from the selection of the crew, to the loading of the strange cargo in Varna, to the doomed sea voyage itself. Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) portrays Captain Eliot with a fine mix of seriousness, authority, and compassion. He's joined by first mate Wojchek (David Dastmalchian - Dune. Oppneheimer), late addition Dr. Clemens (Corey Hawkins - Straight Outta Compton), and stowaway Anna (Aisling Franciosi - The Fall). While a few other members of the crew are present, this core four drives most of the action. Captain Eliot, for his part, remains as stoic and leaderful as he can in the face of increasingly dangerous and supernatural events. Wojcheck reacts as most people likely would, out of fear, mistrust, and desire to take action even if it isn't the right action.

Dr. Clemens functions primarily as our film's Van Helsing. He's a man of science who unfortunately has not experienced the world in the way that he thought or hoped it would be. He's on the ship to try to make sense of the world in which he lives, and needless to say, this journey doesn't help in that regard. But as the horror begins to unfold, it's his education and background that enables him to render aid to the crew and methodically investigate exactly what's happening on the Demeter. The bond he forms with the stowaway Anna after nursing her back to health is central to the tension of the film. Her unfortunate background and Clemens' medical skills are able to shed a little light on the evil transpiring onboard, while at the same time giving us characters we hope will survive despite the captain's journal and the film's opening virtually ensuring that they won't.

The confined environment of the Demeter helps to create much of the film's tension and atmosphere. The excellent and massive practical set is cramped, dark, dingy, and cavernous. There are so many places that remain in shadow and drive the feeling that there isn't anywhere on the ship that is completely safe. That goes for the ship's deck as well. At night it's poorly lit with far too many things obstructing sightlines, too many nights with inclement weather, not to mention the otherworldly fog that intermittently envelops everything. Dracula obviously adds to the terror as well. Expertly acted by Javier Botet, his physicality is unsettling and increasingly menacing as Dracula consumes more blood and regains more and more vitality. Due to the marketing campaign and the disc's packaging, it's no real spoiler to note that this Dracula is markedly different than most others we've seen in recent history. This isn't the suave and seductive portrayal of Dracula from Lugosi, Lee, and Langella, nor is this the creepily complicated Oldham version or the unhinged Kinski interpretation. This take on Dracula, as he regains his strength, is much more feral and animalistic, sharing more commonality in his appearance and manner with 1922's titular Nosferatu and, to my eyes, Batman's Man-Bat. He sports leathery wings, a mouth full of jagged fangs, and large bat-like ears. Dracula is unlike anything our heroes have ever seen before. He might have some familiar animal traits, but he is clearly otherworldly and alien. Wisely, he is largely kept hidden in the shadows until the film's final act when the battle for survival is in full swing.

As with anything adapted from a literary work, especially a landmark like Stoker's Dracula, I've always got the source material tucked away in the back of my mind while watching. With such a small amount of material to work with, one short chapter with an especially important few pages of the captain's log, a large number of creative choices had to be made to turn this into a nearly two-hour feature film. Thanks to a fantastic cast and the incredible sets, much of it works. The characters are reasonably fleshed out and their motivations and backstories are understood well enough. A great amount of detail is added to each day as we see the normal routines of the crew before Dracula begins exacting his toll and their subsequent struggle to survive as he consumes them one by one, regenerates, and plunges the ship into chaos. My only real issues with the story derives from the fact that several significant supernatural events are not found in the captain's log, and during the film's final frames the ending seems to depart a bit too much from the text for my liking. Could one argue that those events were left out of the log so as not to seem insane or because they were not fully understood? Perhaps. And that's a fair workaround for that issue in my mind. But the actual end, while interesting and full of possibility, is a left turn I can't reconcile with the book. But, if we view the book as more of a jumping-off point, it does certainly provide a dangerous new Dracula and a world for further stories which may, likewise, only be partially familiar, as a way to inject new life into a very old character.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a dark film. Much of it takes place at night or in the dim interiors of the ship. Thankfully, the film has received a very solid transfer. On my display, the black levels are very satisfying and support the tension of the film with things and people apeearing out of and disappearing into inky blackness. Fine detail isn't lacking even under these conditions, with the leatheryness of Dracula's skin and the mutilated victims being almost palpable. During daylight scenes or reasonably lit interiors, the practical sets of the Demeter can truly be appreciated. The Demeter is an old ship that has seen some hard use and rough weather and every bit of that history is clearly on display. We see rusty nails, chipped paint, worn varnish, and wood grain. We also see great textures of the crew's clothing, the ship's sails, and the rigging. Skin tones are satisfactorily rendered. I did not notice any video issues or anomalies. On the whole, the image is natural and filmic.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

An English Dolby Atmos track is available on The Last Voyage of the Demeter which is how I viewed the film. The soundtrack does a wonderful job transporting us to the deck and the cabins of the Demeter, surrounding us with the ship's creaking, the sounds of the waves, and the howls of the inhuman Dracula (and his victims!). Gunshots are excellently rendered and the rumblings of the storms are very satisfying and feed the feeling of impending doom. Bear McCreary, the man behind the music in so many projects like The Walking Dead, Black Sails, and Battlestar Galactica (just to name a few), provides an excellent score that supports the ever-increasing desperation of the Demeter's doomed crew. Dialogue is crisp, clean, and intelligible even in the film's most quiet and intimate moments. Other language options include French and Spanish. Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are available as well.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A host of special features are included:

The Last Voyage of the Demeter Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As a horror fan, the character of Dracula is near and dear to my heart. While there are many versions and riffs on the tale of the most well-known of all of the undead, no Dracula film has ever focused on the Demeter's ill-fated voyage from Varna to Whitby. André Øvredal tells a very compelling and darkly atmospheric story that is unique both in terms of its focus and its iteration of Dracula. The cast, led by the brooding Corey Hawkins, the tragically captivating Aisling Franciosi, and the steadfast Liam Cunningham, fully inhabit their characters and imbue them with enough hope and bravery that we root for them even though we firmly believe it's a lost cause. While a few liberties are taken with some story elements, The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a very worthwhile and rewarding entry into the pantheon of Dracula films. Technical merits are strong and Special Features are plentiful for those considering a purchase. For horror fans, The Last Voyage of the Demeter comes Highly Recommended.