The Last Voyage Of The Demeter

A lot of people worldwide still love to read physical books, while some prefer sound books or digital books. I personally prefer physical books because i can pick it up anytime i want and read it without using any technology. Usually i do not read a lot of books every year, simply because it takes a long time for me to just finish one book. I am not one of those people who can finish a book over a weekend, i like to take my time and read one peacefully. I used to read more in the early 2000´s when i visited the local library more often, and looking back it was actually quite nice going there to find interesting books. It was here i saw the cover of the classic book Dracula from author Bram Stoker. I have seen the film Bram Stoker´s Dracula that is based on this book back in 1992 with Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves in cinema back in those days but i didn´t read the book until later. So after looking at it at the library i decided to buy myself a copy. For those who have not read the book, Dracula is a book inspired by historical figures such as Wallachian prince Vlad The Impaler or the countess Elizabeth Báthory. The book tells the story of Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, visits Count Dracula at his castle in the Carpathian Mountains to help the Count purchase a house near London. When things go wrong with three vampire women at the Dracula castle Jonathan escapes and ends up delerious in a Budapest hospital while Dracula takes a ship called the Demeter for England with boxes of earth from his home. He have some big plans ahead of him. The story of Dracula is a very powerful story and very fascinating to read. Even though you know this is not based on any true story it is still to this day a really good book. Speaking of the book of Dracula, in August this year a film based on a portion of the Dracula book went up in cinemas called The Last Voyage Of The Demeter, specifically focusing on the Demeter journey with Dracula on board. I got myself a blu ray copy of this film curious to see if this is any good. Is it possible this is the perfect horror film to watch this Christmas, or should you throw this one in the sea and watch Bram Stoker´s Dracula instead?

On August 6, 1897, the merchant ship Demeter washes ashore in England. Among the wreckage found by the police is the log kept by her Captain Elliot ( Liam Cunningham ). One month earlier, the Demeter makes port in Varna, Bulgaria to pick up cargo for transportation to London. The shipment, consisting of multiple large wooden crates, is transported by locals from Romania. However, the locals refuse to load the cargo on the ship when they see a dragon sign on one of the boxes. That is a bad sign and the locals refuse to continue their work, and they insist that they must leave the area before sundown. Captian Elliot manage to get the men he needs and thier journey towards England begin. They have no idea what is waiting for the crew on board this ship.

This is the kind of horror film that is specifically enjoyable for fans of Dracula or for those who have read the book of Dracula. When you only use a specific piece of a story from a book you have to be able to make it work on the big screen. And honestly i do feel that The Last Voyage Of The Demeter manage to construct a whole film from just a piece of a story. Let´s get into some of the details i feel makes this film interesting. The time period surrounding 1897 is captured pretty good through costume design, and especially when we see the merchant ship Demeter that looks great. Details such as how men worked together on a big merchant ship is also captured well here. Draula himself have an interesting and actually pretty effective look when you think about how many films have been made telling a story about him. They could have done the Christopher Lee look just to make it look old school, instead we get to have some fun for a change and actually see Dracula attack in different ways. I enjoy the performance of legendary actor Liam Cunningham ( probably most known for playing Davos Seaworth in TV series Game Of Thrones ) as Captain Elliot. He really feel so natural in this character that it´s easy to enjoy his screen presence. I also feel that actress Aisling Franciosi ( who did a really good performance in the Australian psychological thriller The Nightingale, definetely worth checking out ) as the character Anna is one of the most interesting characters in this film. So what issues do i have with The Last Voyage Of Demeter? I personally feel that some of the characters on board this ship could have delivered stronger performances. You can almost sense that certain actors didn´t take their roles as serious as they should have and become pretty dull to watch some of their dialogue scenes. Thankfully this film is still good enough to at least be interesting because of the background story of the voyage with Dracula. Director André Overdal ( who directed one of my personal favourite horror film of 2016 called The Autopsy Of Jane Doe ) have made a beautiful horror film that´s actually effective at certain times, even though i would have liked this film to be a little more brutal. The Voyage Of The Demeter is no vampire classic in any way but is solid enough to entertain fans of this specific genre. I suggest you pick up a blu ray copy of this film as well, if you want a cozy Christmas in the company of pure evil. To me that does sound like my kind of Christmas celebration.

Rating: DDD