Movie Review: The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) directed by Andre Ovredal based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker

One small but very creepy part of the novel Dracula tells how he went from Transylvania to England. He had himself shipped on the Demeter along with many crates of dirt (because vampires are supposed to sleep on the soil of their home country). On the voyage, he slowly consumes the whole crew. When the ship arrives, none of the crew is alive and the dead captain is tied down to the steering wheel. 

This movie makes this bit from the novel into its own story. The focus is on a last-minute addition to the Demeter's crew, Clemens (Corey Hawkins), an educated black man from England who acts as ship's surgeon and as the scientific rationalist on board. Once they are underway and the livestock are slaughtered, he looks for a natural explanation even though the evidence does not add up to a natural cause. The captain and crew are a mixture of hard-headed seamen and superstitious guys. After a rough night of storms, they discover one of the crates has broken and a lot of dirt has spilled out. In the dirt they find a woman (Aisling Franciosi) who is barely alive. Clemens thinks she has a blood disease and starts giving her transfusions. The rest of the crew are nervous about her presence since a woman on board means bad luck. Of course, there's a much more sinister passenger on board, who slowly picks them off each night of the voyage.

The plot has a lot of familiar parts, both from the novel and from other films (and not just Dracula films). Viewers familiar with the story realize that no one is going to survive, a fact flagged up by an opening sequence where the Demeter crash lands at Whitby, England, with no crew and a disturbing story in the captain's log. The movie plays out like a haunted house/slasher film, with crew mates being killed by a shadowy monster. They have nowhere to flee to. The ship's newcomers, Clemens and the girl, provide an opportunity to explain the layout of the ship and the different tasks onboard. The ending felt a little off, especially with its hint of a possible sequel that deviates from the novel.

The atmosphere is well-depicted, with a lot of foggy nights and turbulent seas adding to the sense of doom for the crew. Dracula is depicted as a skinny, elongated gargoyle, seemingly fragile until his bursts of aggression. He becomes stronger the more often he feeds, becoming more menacing and more capable as the movie reaches its climax. The ship makes a good contained environment that forces the crew to find ways to survive since they can't flee the ship. The script is not very clever at coming up with those ideas but at least they tried. The movie is an okay horror film, nothing spectacular, nothing terrible.

Recommended if you are a Dracula fan.

Movie Review: Trollhunter (2010)

Trollhunter (2010) written and directed by Andre Ovredal

A trio of students tries to make a documentary about a rogue bear killer in Norway. After way too much set up, they find the guy and discover that he hunts something much bigger than a bear. He hunts trolls for a secret government department that wants to keep the trolls contained to their territories and kept away from the public eye. The troll hunter reluctantly lets them document his work.

The movie is a found footage film in the vein of The Blair Witch Project, complete with opening title cards claiming the footage was found on a couple of hard drives and edited down but not enhanced with special effects. And end cards claiming the students have disappeared and anyone with information should contact their local police. As often happens in found footage films, the set up takes too long and the scenes of running away from danger are less interesting and less plausible--the camera is just jiggling around the landscape with maybe some sound effects or the occasional glimpse of something significant. How you feel about found footage films will be a major factor in your enjoyment of the film.

The movie has a weird dynamic--the troll hunter dismisses fairy tales as a source of information but the trolls definitely can smell the blood of a Christian (the troll hunter is not so sure about Muslims). Happily, the movie doesn't bother with a scientific explanation, it just states characteristics of these trolls and you either take it or leave it. The filmmakers are aware of the ridiculousness of the premise but take it seriously enough to keep it out of the realm of mere comedy. The movie is more drama and horror but has enough comedy to make it fun.

The landscapes are truly beautiful, so as a travel film, this is a delight. How you feel about landscapes will be a minor factor in your enjoyment of the film.

Slightly recommended, as a bit of foreign geography and creative license showing someone hunting trolls in modern-day Norway.