While audiences have been beaten to death with Dracula adaptations over the years, director Andre Ovredal brings the Count back to his horror roots with The Last Voyage of the Demeter – which makes one of the genre’s most iconic monsters scary again.

The film – based on the well-known “Captain’s Log” chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula – follows the crew of a merchant ship as they take a new batch of cargo to the UK. While their voyage is initially smooth sailing, they eventually realize that they’re carrying something – or someone – sinister. As night falls, the crew becomes targeted by a mysterious beast who grows stronger every time it consumes the blood of its victims. So, now the crew is forced into a fight for survival and must rely on the help of determined doctor Clemens (Cory Hawkins) and stowaway Anna (Aisling Franciosi) to help the crew kill the beast before they reach the mainland.

With Demeter, Ovredal brings Dracula back to its most basic horror form – which is both a gift and curse. Since the film doesn’t put much of a different spin on Dracula lore, viewers shouldn’t expect much more than a pretty basic depiction. The routine of the film’s central monster is one that we’ve seen time and time again. In the night, Dracula (Javier Botet) awakens to hunt down someone on the crew, picks them off one by one, drinks their blood, and then heads back into its hiding spot the following night. It’s so familiar that you almost can’t help but wish something more was happening or that there was a greater plan unfolding.

The elements of Dracula lore the film plays around with are pretty typical as well and don’t veer too much from what viewers already know. The film features a lot of elements that audiences have seen before – from fearing sunlight to creating mindless zombie servants – and the only “new” thing the film brings is its physical depiction of Dracula.  The film even takes the wildly generic and unnecessary route of trying to establish franchise potential. The direction it presents feels incredibly tiresome and typical for Dracula stories and the overall aspirations feel tacked on rather than an organic part of the story. The ending of The Last Voyage of the Demeter is simply a reminder of how forced franchise ambitions can tarnish an ending.

There’s no doubt that The Last Voyage of the Demeter doesn’t reinvent the Dracula formula enough to really make a distinct impression. However, it is hard to say that it also isn’t a refreshing slice of Dracula-styled horror since Ovredal’s vision is superb. Given how Dracula – as a character – has been more recently depicted as this romantic charmer who’s seen as more of a good-looking manipulator rather than a literal monster, it’s great to see the character as a full-blown horror monster here. With the amazing practical design of Dracula in this film and a pro like Botet portraying the character, it’s probably one of the terrifying versions of Dracula we’ve seen in film. There’s a gargoyle-like inspiration that’s hard not to love and the more beast-like approach to the character makes him a true movie monster again. Plus, it’s really cool to see Dracula’s slow transformation in the film and watch it slowly gain power as it feeds on more victims. By the end, it’s truly a horrifying force and it’s what makes the film feel like a grand return to horror for Dracula. 

The film is surely a back-to-basics approach for how to make Dracula scary, but it’s a necessary choice in bringing a character like Dracula back to its horror roots. Plus, with a director like Ovredal behind the camera, there’s some fantastic suspense-building and a strong atmosphere that horror fans will be sucked into. Ovredal’s use of the dark setting of the Demeter – which looks incredible because of how it’s practically built – is great because the claustrophobic feel of the area and the trapped nature help build suspense and create this sense of not being able to run. It’s even fun to initially get a small tour of the ship and crew through the eyes of Clemens and see how Dracula eventually uses it against them. There’s such a strong isolation to the setting too that audiences can’t help but be so invested into the central fight for survival on the ship. 

Not to mention, Ovredal isn’t afraid to let the blood flow and have grotesque bloodshed on-screen. While some will wish the kills were a little more memorable, it’s hard not to love how Ovredal creates some sharp visual horror that’ll turn viewers’ stomachs and deliver eerie moments. It’s great how the horror doesn’t stop when the sun comes up and Ovredal finds ways to make viewers scream when it’s shown how sunlight plays a factor. There are other horrifying obstacles the group runs into outside of Dracula that make for some tense chases and gnarly and slightly brutal gore and action. It’s even better how Ovredal establishes real stakes and a sense that no one is safe by killing off an innocent character in a sudden and gut-wrenching fashion. It genuinely feels like a stab in the gut when it happens and establishes a grounded sense of horror that most viewers will empathize with – especially since most of the characters have strong emotional aspects to them.

While there are characters who are simply just fodder, there are characters and performances here who have great stories and emotion that audiences will recognize. Hawkins continues to prove his talents as a leading man as Clemens with the sense of morality and determination he brings as a character. He finds great ways to maintain the sense of humanity while fighting the beast and it’s kind of cool to see a man of science like him be forced to come to grips with a world outside of his own. Plus, there are some good elements of race and perspective interwoven into his story that gives him much more intriguing depth. Liam Cunningham is fantastic as Elliot – the captain of the Demeter – and has an unmatched screen presence. His narration in the film is top-tier and sets the mood perfectly. Plus, he shows some strong emotion in tough moments that might get others to shed some tears as well.

Other supporting performances from Franciosi and Woody Norman also stand out for the ways they make the emotion, charm, and action of the film better. Overall, the characters and the central story will be more than enough to keep viewers hooked from the start to its tense final battle. However, there are still some shortcomings in these elements that do hold the film back. It’s a shame that despite the characters being so likeable and interesting, they fall into the pitfalls of not acting to the top of their intelligence. Although they make it a point to figure out where Dracula is sleeping, the characters do nothing with this information and make some half-brained plan in the finale that only leads to more death. The story is also just a little too simple and thin. It just would’ve been nice to have more world-building or history sewn into the story that adds some depth or intrigue into what’s happening. But it ends up being a pretty bare bones survival story with lackluster and predictable conclusions.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter likely won’t change how audiences feel about Dracula movies since it adds no new ideas to the lore and doesn’t reinvent what Dracula is at all, but for some that’s what they’ll love about it. The film is a classic Dracula tale through and through and lovingly brings the character back to the horror genre for a creepy and suspenseful thrill ride that’s bolstered by good performances and Ovredal’s horror vision.

Watch the Trailer Here: