Shadows on the Wall | The Last Voyage of the Demeter

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

dir Andre Ovredal
scr Bragi Schut Jr, Zak Olkewicz
prd Bradley J Fischer, Mike Medavoy, Arnold W Messer
with Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, Javier Botet, Woody Norman, Jon Jon Briones, Chris Walley, Stefan Kapicic, Martin Furulund, Nikolai Nikolaeff, Graham Turner
release US 11.Aug.23,
UK Aug.24 frf
23/Germany DreamWorks 1h58

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A rarely filmed section of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula is the basis for this thriller set on an ill-fated journey plagued by something both murderous and unnatural. Norwegian director Andre Ovredal keeps the film grounded through quirky character touches while emphasising the dark and stormy menace. So the movie becomes a claustrophobic slasher horror as it goes along, pitting a diminishing number of crew members against an iconic monster.

In 1857, the Russian schooner Demeter is hired to deliver private cargo from Romania to London. Captain Eliot (Cunningham) and steady first mate Wokchek (Dastmalchian) hire extra crew-hands locally, including Oxford-trained physician Clemens (Hawkins), who has been sidelined by his African heritage. Then whatever is in these dragon-marked crates starts frightening the crew's dog Huck and munching on the livestock. Even the rats have jumped ship. And when sickly stowaway Anna (Franciosi) is discovered, she warns of impending death. Soon, crewmen begin being brutally taken out one by one, and the fear becomes real. Openi

ng as the ship is discovered wrecked on the English coast, the story is told through the captain's log. Of course, the nastiness happens in inky nighttime, and the hunter is a ravenous vampire (Botet) who is more of a beastly Nosferatu than a suave Dracula. And he clearly thinks he's on an all-you-can-eat cruise, as his inventive attacks are gleefully savage. That said, the crew is more terrified than the movie audience; the violence is vicious and visually intriguing, but never terribly scary.

Engagingly, performances are refreshingly understated and realistic, adding a resonance to this extremely heightened situation. There's not much depth to the characters, but Hawkins and Cunningham are able to bring nuance to their roles, and Franciosi adds her own steely presence to the mix. Each crewmate has just enough personality to be distinct, from Dastmalchian's silent-stern Wojchek to the superstitious cook (Briones) who attempts an escape. And as the captain's bright young grandson, Norman provides some nice texture.

Because of its structure, the movie quickly feels like an Alien movie set on an old time ship. Set-pieces are very well-staged to make the most of the setting, complete with properly gruesome touches. And there's some well-orchestrated suspense along the way, plus unnerving sequences that carry a strong emotional kick. So while the plot feels a bit overlong, as the script adds some unnecessarily dense story points, the film is worth seeing for its solid cast and atmospheric grisliness.

themes, language, violence 23.Aug.24

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