I found this bone-chilling film on the streaming site I use and when the premise indicates that it's a paranormal thriller, I was super excited. Not for the horrors but for the action and suspense. I've seen several paranormal films, vampire and werewolf types mostly and liked them. As it turns out, this film is another narrative of the vampire king, Dracula.
The Last Voyage Of The Demeter (2023) is an American supernatural thriller/horror based on a chapter from the 1897 novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker. The chapter is titled "The Captain's Log" and this is revealed in the opening credits of the film.
The film begins on a stormy night. The police are called to check out a ship that is nearly wrecked ashore. They see it's named The Demeter. One of them finds a log book written by the captain of the ship. He opens it and begins to read the horrific account of the captain.
https://youtu.be/6FgUUO9Ztd0?si=QBJ-qNpeA4F5tZCaSource: YouTube
In a flashback, the Demeter docks at a port in Varna, Bulgaria to pick up some wooden crates bound for London. The locals who brought the crate asked the captain to ensure the crates are loaded on the ship before sunset. The captain instructs his right-hand man, Wojchek, to find able-bodied men who can sail with them to London for gold coins.
Some men line up and Wojchek picks three but turns down Clemens (played by Corey Hawkins), a doctor. When the men are loading the crates, one of them sees the insignia of a dragon on the crates and turns down the job. In the process, a crate falls and almost injures the captain's grandson. Clemens saves the boy and he's allowed to join the men on the Demeter.
As the Demeter sails, a crate falls in the hold revealing an injured and infected lady. Clemens treats her with a blood transfusion. Then strange things begin to happen. The animals on board are found dead, their throats ripped out. The girl reveals that the devil, a creature that feeds on blood is with them and there is no escape. The crew are thrown into confusion. Will these men survive the scary voyage or will they succumb to the horror that comes out only at night to feed?
Review
The plot of this film is an interesting one. It tells the audience how Dracula is transported from Bulgaria to London and none of the crew members make it to the shores of London that night. It's a part of the vampire king's story, so it's scary, eerily haunting and gory.
Director André Øvredal did a fantastic job concentrating more on imagery than other parts of the storytelling. With the visuals, the audience is spellbound by the moody and haunted atmosphere in the film. The tension of every scene is palpable as Dracula hunts the crew in a cat-and-mouse style making viewers wonder who is the vampire's next meal and who will vanquish him at the end.
The performance of the cast is outstanding. Corey Hawkins did great as the protagonist while the rest of the cast was supportive. Some parts of the film are heart-wrenching, especially parts where the captain's grandson, a young boy, sees the horrors and fights to stay alive. I wish the filmmakers did not include the boy. Children shouldn't be exposed to terrifying things like this.
The only part I wasn't impressed with was the pacing of the film at the beginning. Some scenes were slow and a little drawn out. I understood it was to build tension and suspense typical of the horror genre, but I thought they could have been shortened. With the way the movie ended, I am hoping there will be a sequel.
Overall, The Last Voyage Of The Demeter is dark, downright creepy and thrilling to watch. It's not for the fainthearted because of the gory scenes but I'll recommend it to horror lovers. I give it 3.9 stars out of 5.
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Other images are screenshots from the movie
Posted using CineTV
