Earlier this year, we got a variation on the Dracula legend that followed the supporting character of Renfield. That film was primarily a comedy, but the twist of focusing on a secondary story component as the basis of a film is what seems to have produced this movie as well. The film directly gives credit to the Captain's Log from the original Dracula novel. If you have never read Dracula, you might be surprised to find that it is structured not as a singular narrative, but as a series of letters, journal entries, legal communications, telegrams and such. The Captain's Log is one such document that fills in the story. This film attempts to fill in the log.
The set up of the story is pretty effective with a group of Roma men delivering a set of crates to be delivered to England, dockside. Their are anxious to leave before sundown and will not assist in loading the crates. A young man, anxious to get back to England, ultimately hires on as a hand to set things in motion. The story telling convenience is that he is a doctor. Why would a medical professional have to join the crew of the Demeter to get back to England? The plot creates a reason that he is unable to get work as a doctor, because he is a black man. These two contrivances are the only things at the start of the story which feel a little forced. Otherwise, it all works at building the situation pretty well with a little bit of mystery.
We get a plotline that has been pretty well established over the years in horror films. The crew gets wiped out one at a time by a malevolent evil on board (I just saw Alien again last week, and the parallels are obvious). Unlike some previous films, like Alien, we don't quite get to care about the crew as much as we might need to. The manner in which they are dispatched is usually pretty interesting and creepy, but it does not feel particularly surprising. Maybe that's because of the prologue at the start of the film that lets us know from the beginning that everyone is dead.
"The Last Voyage of the Demeter" is a good looking film, with a production design that convincingly shows us the environment and operating of the ship. The CGI effects are pretty heavy and the vessel in the long shots from the sea is not quite as convincing as the moments on the deck or down in the hold. The creature effects are fine but we see Dracula too soon and too often in the film. The only surprise that comes in the climax are the wings, but we were tipped to that earlier and that also diminishes the horror effects. There is a coda section that does not make much sense, and it seems designed to justify a sequel, which also does not make any sense.
It is not an essential film in the Dracula portfolio of films. I was mildly entertained by the film but I was not impressed by it. I like the idea of trying a variant on the story while using a part of the original plotline, but it seems a bit ambitious for what is ultimately a simple story. When I see it in the five dollar blu ray bin at Wal-mart or Best Buy, I will add it to my collection, but I won't feel compelled to buy a special edition 4K release, it just is not that special.
