It’s a well-known fact that Universal Studios tried to reboot its Universal Monsters Brand with the Dark Universe. They even had a photoshoot showing all the actors who would be playing their versions of these iconic characters in future films. The problem was that Dracula Untold and The Mummy both flopped with critics and at the box office.  Which scuttled this idea before it could even gather some momentum. So they had to start again and with less flair for the dramatic. The Last Voyage of the Demeter is their second chance at rebooting these characters. They start with one of their most iconic characters Dracula.

This is based on a series of Captain’s Logs which was in turn a chapter in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The Captain in question is Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham, Game of Thrones) He has arrived at Carpathia ready to sail to London. While he’s there he picks up some questionable cargo and a few new crew members including a mister Clemens (Corey Hawkins, Kong Skull Island) Along the way to London a series of strange occurrences start to happen which makes the crew realize some kind of creature is on the boat killing its crew one by one.

This film is set in the 1800s and has an aesthetic to go along with it. This era is a perfect place and time to set this movie. The colonial era is always nice to see depicted on the big screen. It’s based on the novel, so that goes hand in hand with the previous film Bram Stoker’s Dracula, not connected to this film except by the book it’s using as inspiration. This is just touched on in Bram Stoker’s Dracula though. So it was nice to see it brought to the big screen in this much more suspenseful version of Dracula. 

The film has a slower start than I’d like but it picks up in the second half that had an atmospheric take on this iconic character. The director Andre Overadal uses a lot of classic horror movie tricks to create tension and a sense of dread. Bad weather, fog, and a dark cavernous lower portion of the Demeter are used to perfection to make this boat a great location for a horror film. Especially one featuring Dracula in his monstrous form.

Besides the two cast members I’ve already mentioned there are a few others that made an impact on me. One of them is Woody Norman as Toby. He gets in over his head as the Captain’s Son but is memorable in his role. Aisling Franciosi as Anna, a mystery woman found in a crate in the hold, adds an interesting element to the film. David Dastmalchian has been in everything it seems this year. He plays the Captain’s right-hand man, as his heir apparent to the ship’s captaincy once the Captain retires. He has his apprehensions regarding what is transpiring on the ship.  They all add a good mix to the others I’ve mentioned and help the story progress. 

There is a lot of mystery and suspense in this story. The screenwriters Bragi F Schut, Zack Olkewics, and of course Bram Stoker whose book inspired this film. The story gives a lot of clues as to who this monster truly is. The location on the ship’s manifest and the symbols on the boxes in the hold are just a couple of them. The problem is the movie forgets a few rules about Dracula that have been used for decades now. These mistakes aren’t hard to see but it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment I had while watching this take on this classic Universal Monster, Dracula.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a good take on Dracula. It has a very good script that it’s based on that is inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The direction and production design add a great element that creates an atmospheric film. The horror is also very bloody and violent and the movie deserves its R rating. This is a good film with a good cast anchored by Corey Hawkins. It has the makings of a new version of Universal Monsters that we as fans loved as kids. It’s August and it’s hard to tell if any film will do good but hopefully, this one does for the potential of where this story could go in the future.

3 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen