The Last Voyage of the Demeter

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

48% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 168 reviews)

Runtime: 118 minutes… which was too long

Directed by: Andre Ovredal

Starring: Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, Chris Walley

From: A surprising number of production companies

What a contrast this Dracula is compared to Nicolas Cage in Renfield! Demeter wasn’t a success w/ the critics or the general public; what swayed me to this theatrical experience was hearing a few somewhat positive reviews and phrases like “Gothic Horror”, which I hope to have more than one of by the time Halloween rolls around. For certain, there will be several theatrical experiences of horror films—although at least one could be a real stinker. Thankfully, I did not think this was bad; flawed? Oh yes.

As most have noted, a hair under two hours was just too lengthy for this story; more judicious editing would have benefited this production and the plot. Furthermore, I went “Hey, wait a minute…” more than once with the story. Otherwise, I thought this tale of Dracula being transported from Carpathia to London via ship was fine although not great.

The characters are decent-when they aren’t made to look dumb-there are some Gothic moments, gory deaths, and while the dog dying wasn’t a surprise, another death will be an eye-opener to many. The bleak tone and the claustrophobic nature of how the crew’s panic increases as they feel impending doom envelop them… that, the dark, rainy scenes, capable cast, nice score and solid sound meant that this was a good time for me despite some complaints; amusingly, it was in one of the larger auditoriums at the AMC I went to.

Not all will like Demeter but some will feel that… this is a voyage worth embarking on. The Andre Ovredal films I’ve seen, all I’ve liked. That is this, Troll Hunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe and even Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I know the latter’s reputation isn’t outstanding but I was still entertained.