‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’ -The Horror of Dracula Takes to the High Seas in First Trailer
The Last Voyage of the Demeter tells the terrifying, horrific tale of the crew of the schooner that carried Dracula to London.
A campy, comedic Dracula in Renfield hit theaters this weekend. This new movie is very far removed from that. There are no sparkly, conventionally attractive vampires here, either.
The movie uses the chapter “The Captain’s Log” of Bram Stoker’s Dracula as a jumping-off point. It tells the story of the Russian schooner, Demeter, that was chartered to carry private cargo from Carpathia to London – twenty-four wooden crates filled with experimental earth. Plus, something much more sinister. It follows the doomed crew as they attempt to survive a mysterious and terrifying creature stalking the ship every night. When the Demeter finally arrives at Whity Harbour, the crew is nowhere to be found.
The events in the book are covered via newspaper clippings and a brief captain’s log. The movie uses that and attempts to fill in the gaps of what happened between the ship’s departure and its mysterious arrival. This first trailer sets a mood of terror and tension.
Director André Øvredal spoke with Bloody Disgusting about the challenges of making such a well-known story feel new – and scary.
“We’ve put a lot of effort into making the movie as unpredictable and as varied as possible in certain aspects. I always wanted to be very close to what the original text was, and I tried to embrace that as much as possible when making the movie. Of course, there are liberties taken because it’s just that’s the way it works. It’s a different medium, but I think we’re still very close to Stoker’s intent, the feeling, and the story. Generally, you’ll recognize many, many solid, clear plot points from the original text.”
Øvredal is also particularly proud of the version of Dracula they created – the iconic monster is played by Javier Botet.
“… you don’t follow Dracula around as a character, as the sophisticated aristocrat that he actually is. You find him as a feral blood addict who needs the blood; he’s desperate on this journey and needs to start taking down the crew one by one to survive. It’s a survival story in some ways on his part. I find that to be a great aspect of this story. I’m very curious to see how the audiences are feeling about the portrayal of Dracula.”
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via Universal Pictures
The Last Voyage of the Demeter Cast and Details
The Last Voyage of the Demeter is directed by Norwegian horror virtuoso André Øvredal. The film stars Corey Hawkins as Clemens, a doctor who joins the Demeter crew, Aisling Franciosi as an unwitting stowaway, Liam Cunningham as the ship’s captain and David Dastmalchian as the Demeter’s first mate. The cast also features Jon Jon Briones, Stefan Kapicic, Nikolai Nikolaeff, and Javier Botet.
Based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, The Last Voyage of the Demeter tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo—fifty unmarked wooden crates—from Carpathia to London. Strange events befall the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a merciless presence onboard the ship. When the Demeter finally arrives off the shores of England, it is a charred, derelict wreck. There is no trace of the crew.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter hits theaters on August 11.
