THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT # 23 | THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT # 23
August 23, 2023 by Josh Coutts
In our ongoing That’s Entertainment series, in this segment we cover The Last Voyage of Demeter. Man, oh man, was this a wonderful horror film that actually shows the general origin story of Dracula.
The movie was based off one of the chapters from Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” titled “The Captain’s Log.” This is a retold tale almost as old as time itself.
The tone of this film is absolutely fantastic! The cast is beyond wonderful, and the special effects are just glorious with cinematography that is second to none!
As the movie opens, you find yourself stepping foot on this doomed ship where the captain and first mate are looking for more crewmembers for the merchant ship known as The Demeter.
The ship’s name may give us a clue to where this voyage may be headed. Demeter is the name of the mythological Greek Goddess of the Harvest, but also has ties to Hades and the Underworld along with all the unsavory characters from that realm. File this one under “The Dracula Cruise.” Leaving port from Transylvania headed to London, England.
With the ship name as a backdrop, the film opens with an elderly man who really wants to be on the ship and says he’s strong like a bull. While loading up a crate onto the ship, he sees a mark of the dragon or the devil, and decides to leave, saying the ship is cursed…
The cast is solid – how the filmmakers played to the theater of the mind makes this film even more diabolical. The filmmakers showed little bits and pieces of “Dracula” without really giving everything away until the end … that is fantastic story telling and worthy of a quasi-origin story. It made my horror heart very, very happy!
The film had some jumpy moments – and definitely some creepy moments as well – but as a horror nut, it made me smile, laugh, cheer, and get excited for someone getting their throat ripped out! I highly recommend it, especially if you’re into “Dracula” and other scary things that go bump in the night. This count is no Renfield – with this contrast, it sets up for a twisted segue into the depths of Dracula lore.
The cast alone is worth the watch: Javier Botet López (Conde Drácula), Corey Hawkins (Clemens), Aisling Franciosi (Anna), Liam Cunningham (Captain Eliot), David Dastmalchian (Wojchek), Chris Walley (Abrams), and more. Their acting was so realistic; everyone seemed genuinely frightened.
Does this movie set up a sequel? Only time and box-office revenue will tell. The storyline does frame it that way.
For the horror enthusiast, there are some of the coolest death scenes I’ve seen in a long time – they are not over the top. These scenes are so realistic it sucks you into the film. As a horror nut, this is definitely worth a watch, and a “must” on the big screen.
