The Last Voyage of the Demeter Review

Horror

A Hauntingly Beautiful Voyage Into Darkness

Finally making its debut on physical formats, André  Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter is perhaps one of the most underrated horror films in recent years. Taking the first chapter (The Captain’s Log) of Bram Stoker’s iconic book (Dracula), we finally see the Count’s journey from his homeland to London, and Øvredal has crafted a low-key masterpiece.

The film establishes an ominous tone from the opening moments, blending lush period detail with relentless tension. If you were a fan of the first season of The Terror, you’ll be here for the slow-burn, isolated dread. For me, this approach sets The Last Voyage of the Demeter apart: a complete commitment to building tension. A jump scare in a movie is fine, but once it has happened, all that tension has dissipated, and the film has to reset the clock. A slow burn lets that tension sit there and grow in power. The film’s pacing may not be for everyone, but for those who appreciate atmospheric storytelling and an unrelenting sense of doom, it’s a feast.  

The cinematography captures the ship’s isolation amidst a vast, uncaring ocean. In essence, this serves as a sort of prequel to the main events of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. We already know that the ship arrived without a living soul onboard. While we know the crew’s fate is unhappy, it doesn’t stop us from investing in the characters.

The cast delivers strong performances across the board. Corey Hawkins is particularly compelling as Clemens, a rational man of science, thrusts into an inexplicable nightmare. As ever, Liam Cunningham brings he’s warm gravitas as Captain Eliot, and it’s always great to see David Dastmalchian.The Demeter, with its labyrinthine corridors and decaying woodwork, feels as much a character as the crew aboard it.

But the real star of the film is the creature itself—a nightmarish and feral Dracula. This isn’t the suave, seductive vampire of pop culture; it’s a primal force of hunger and malevolence. The creature design is terrifyingly effective, and Øvredal wisely dials up the tension by revealing Dracula gradually, making every appearance more unsettling than the last. Like Steven Spielberg did with the shark in Jaws (1975), Øvredal sparingly uses his beautifully nightmarish creature.

Universal took two wild swings with Dracula in 2023. This and the equally underloved Renfield struggled at the box office, but Demeter’s planned UK theatrical release was shelved following its underwhelming US box office. Just because a movie flopped doesn’t make it bad, and a film that made truckloads of cash isn’t automatically good. By that metric, the first Avatar is the best movie of all time because it made the most money.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter tries to be something more in a genre frequently reliant on cheap thrills or predictable jump scares. It’s a film that understands the power of suspense and atmosphere, crafting a terrifying tale honouring its literary origins while carving out fresh space in the Dracula canon. It’s lavishly gothic, unsettlingly atmospheric, and delivers a uniquely chilling chapter in the Dracula mythos. We’d expect nothing less from the maker of the equally impressive The Autopsy of Jane Doe.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter will be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD from February 3rd.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *