Fantasy horror is finally coming to the cinema after 25 years of planning – only unfortunately its monster is dead boring

On August 17, 2023, The Last Journey of the Demeter will start in German cinemas. The fantasy horror film tells how the famous vampire Count Dracula came to England from Europe: hidden on board a ship. Or, when it comes to this new film adaptation, not so hidden at all…

Alien on the high seas? What The Last Voyage of Demeter wants to be… and what the fantasy horror film really is

In 1992, Francis Ford Coppola cast the entire fantasy narrative of Bram Stoker’s Dracula into a film. Director André Øvredal takes a different approach. He picks a short chapter from the famous 1897 novel* for The Last Voyage of Demeter: The Captain’s Log. In it, a Russian merchant ship transports 24 mysterious crates from the Black Sea port of Varna towards England, but has to realize on the way that more and more crew members bless their time.

Breaking down the Dracula myth into this one episode is actually a brilliant move. In a confined space, an unknown threat is spreading and the horror chamber game on the high seas is perfect. Screenwriter Bragi F. Schut settled for it inspired by Ridley Scott’s Alien.

But not only the crew of the Demeter, but also the film itself put in the course of its Production history an odyssey there. Schut revealed that he wrote the first screenplay back in 1998, i.e. before 25 years wrote. Several director changes followed (Robert Schwentke, Stefan Ruzowitzky, David Slade, Neil Marshall) and new screenplay versions with stars such as Ben Kingsley, Noomi Rapace and Viggo Mortensen replaced. It was only implemented under André Øvredal (Trollhunter).

But the long development time with changing creative people makes the last journey of the Demeter difficult in the end, even in the cinema chair. Because unfortunately sways the horror narrative qualitatively more than a stay on board could justify.

The final voyage of the Demeter has a Dracula problem after a promising start

The first impression is positive. The individual characters in the film are precisely occupied. Liam Cunningham (Davos from Game of Thrones) returns as captain and David Dastmalchian (Oppenheimer) plays the dubious Maat Wojchek. Up-and-coming young actress Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale) hides on board, while Corey Hawkins (In the Heights) as Doctor Clemens brings the sympathy needed to pull us into the story. Over and beyond The film impresses with its ship set, equipment and costumes.

The promising trip only loses its course when the horror villain makes an appearance. Because that the biggest problem of this monster film is its monster of all things.

Of course, Dracula fans know how Demeter’s journey ends. The ominous “last trip” is even in the title. But is it necessary for the film to show the outcome of the journey right at the beginning? Does he have to hurl an unmistakable “Warning, I’m a Dracula movie” at us via a text reference? This gives the unpleasant direction of travel early on: Mallet instead of horror nuances.

The engaging work that could have been The Last Voyage of the Demeter shines through again and again. In the port of departure, the story begins as an adventure film and despite warnings from the local residents, we happily head out to sea. Alternating between gloomy nights and sunny days, the horror film could have tightened its suspense even further. But the story lacks patience, the screenplay reveals too much of his bloodsucker too quickly.

When horror becomes tiresome finger exercise

It’s less than half an hour before we see the creature crawling across the deck for the first time. The unfortunately robs later, more effective scenes of their terror. For example, the scene with a child who accidentally gets locked in the captain’s cabin alone with the monster has tremendous potential. When the boy only sees skinny white limbs flashing from his hiding place, he suddenly gets goosebumps. But it would have been so much scarier if we hadn’t seen Nosferatu in full beforehand.

But this is how this vampire stays (despite the knowledgeable monster mime Javier Botet) until the end boring, CGI infested monster without a soul, which destroys its own film. The Dracula fascination, which oscillates between an intelligent man and a bloodthirsty beast, is reduced to the shock effect here. The intelligence of this being remains pure assertion and the vampire attack degenerates into the tediously repeated handle of the story.

Numerous logic holes that the Demeter almost sink along the way, and even the attempt to establish interesting characters, which was abandoned halfway through, could be ignored – if the monster film would at least develop an intoxicating atmosphere. But the set pieces that have been planned for 25 years do not develop the necessary attraction without a convincing threat successful implementation of the ominous voyage rather the 2nd episode of the Netflix series Dracula should watch.

Podcast for horror fans: The 5 best zombie series in the stream

Whether you watch The Last of Us or not, the zombie series genre is more diverse than meets the eye. That’s why we recommend five zombie representatives in the podcast stream that you shouldn’t miss. They can be streamed on Netflix, Disney+, Amazon or even free of charge in the Arte media library.

Each of the zombie series presented makes something special in its own way. Be it that it takes you to a historical setting, approaches the topic with humor or, as a social drama, deals with how ex-zombies can be reintegrated into society.

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