Vague Visages’ The Last Voyage of the Demeter review contains minor spoilers. André Øvredal’s 2023 movie features Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi and Liam Cunningham. Check out the VV home page for more film reviews, along with cast/character summaries, streaming guides and complete soundtrack song listings.

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Can we ever really have enough horror movies about Dracula? André Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter says no, adding another new addition to the classic vampire franchise (the second so far this year, after the Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult-led Renfield). Zeroing in on the ship that Dracula takes from Romania to England in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, The Last Voyage of the Demeter boasts a creative concept and a few well-designed set pieces, especially in the second half of the film. But it also suffers from poor pacing and muddled visuals that dilute the impact of the story, creating a movie that has an interesting premise but, ironically, almost no stakes.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter begins with a wooden ship from an earlier time. The crew members have been hired to transport several crates from Transylvania to London — an easy enough task, they presume, and one that they will be handsomely rewarded for, with a bonus for making the journey in good time. But when the protagonists attempt to bring on extra deckhands in Romania, the superstitious locals balk at the offer of work, refusing to set foot on the Demeter. The only volunteer is Clemens (Corey Hawkins), a Black doctor from London who is so eager enough to return to England that he’s willing to ignore their warnings. But almost as soon as the Demeter sets sail, the crew members get attacked by a mysterious, hidden force. First, their livestock are slaughtered. Then, the crew themselves become targeted.

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If there’s one main problem with The Last Voyage of the Demeter, it’s that the first hour drags. Anonymous sailors get murdered in not particularly imaginative ways, and the audience likely won’t feel any emotional connection to any of the victims. When viewers already know how a film will end, the director’s job is to immerse them in the action. But this approach, unfortunately, just sort of lurches towards an inevitable conclusion in The Last Voyage of the Demeter. It’s not until Dracula sets his sights on young Toby (played by the warm and precocious Woody Norman) — the grandson of the ship’s captain (Liam Cunningham) – that the film has any sense of urgency. To be fair, The Last Voyage of the Demeter does pick up, and the second half as a whole is a lot more energetic. By that point, though, some damage has already been done.

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The Last Voyage of the Demeter might’ve benefited from a script more interested in making audiences emotionally invested in its sailors. Cunningham’s captain is a stern leader who dotes on his young grandson, and Hawkins imbues Clemens with a fierce intelligence and level-headed demeanor that allows him to face off against Dracula. Plus, the always impressive David Dastmalchian wrings every ounce of personality from the taciturn but exceptionally competent first mate, Wojchek. But the other sailors in The Last Voyage of the Demeter make almost no impact whatsoever.

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It also doesn’t help that by the time viewers see Dracula in all his glory in The Last Voyage of the Demeter, the character suffers from diminishing returns. The more he appears, the less effective he is. There are entire sequences in The Last Voyage of the Demeter filled with fog that are probably supposed to be atmospheric but actually look muddled. With all the night shots, it’s difficult to identify the action, which isn’t exactly great for the film’s most climatic sequences. The concept of a shipful of doomed sailors should yield better horror material, but Øvredal doesn’t use his claustrophobic setting to its full advantage. The ship feels appropriately lived-in and rich with character, as one can genuinely believe Dastmalchian’s Wojchek when he devastatingly proclaims the Demeter as his home. Still, the moment feels as though there’s a lot more that could have been done with all the eerie nooks and crannies.

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As far as vampire and Dracula-specific stories go, The Last Voyage of the Demeter deserves credit for taking a unique angle of the original story and building out from there. But Øvredal’s film is far from perfect. And although Hawkins and Cunningham make for intriguing and empathetic leads (and little Woody Norman in particular is a delight), it’s not enough to save The Last Voyage of the Demeter from being a bit of a slog. Ultimately, as much potential as there is in a ship-based vampire horror story, with sailors being picked off each night, viewers are left to conclude that there might be a reason why Dracula’s journey from Romania to London is glossed over in the original novel. The Last Voyage of the Demeter doesn’t make enough of an impression to stand out amongst the veritable legions of other Dracula films that already exist.

Audrey Fox is a features editor and film/television critic at Looper, with bylines at RogerEbert.com, Nerdist, /Film and IGN, amongst other outlets. She has been blessed by the tomato overlords with their coveted seal of approval. Audrey received her BA in film from Clark University and her MA in International Relations from Harvard University. When she’s not watching movies, Audrey loves historical non-fiction, theater, traveling and playing the violin (poorly).

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