Book-To-Movie: 'Dracula' and 'The Last Voyage of the Demeter'

Credit: Wikipedia/Universal Pictures

Warning: A spoiler lurks in this review.

I know, the title to this post makes it sound like Dracula's gone Indiana Jones. Although the summer's Dracula film, "The Last Voyage of the Demeter", can be said to get into the genre of adventure since it takes place on the high seas, it is a very dark and terrifying film and so is horror overall like what any Dracula film should be. It's the fourth Monday of the month and so it's time for another Book-To-Movie (BTM) review in which we review a work of prose fiction and its movie adaptation. 

As you may have guessed, for today's BTM we’ll be reviewing Bram Stoker's famous classic vampire novel and its latest movie adaptation. However, the movie's not so much adapted from the overall book as it is from a single chapter and so this is how director Andre Ovredal’s “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” differs from many other Dracula films. There have been a lot of Dracula film flops and this movie is just one more. But that’s only according to popular opinion of the critics. This critic writing saw the movie and was really impressed. There are different takes on the Dracula myth in cinema, many of them low-rated and cheesy, but "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" is one take that is believable and remains connected to the novel.

Dracula Movie Flops of Past and Present

Most Dracula movies that have put the titular character in unusual settings other than Transylvania or England have been really bad. One example is 1966’s "Billy the Kid Vs. Dracula". (For those of you who aren't big viewers of sub-b-rated films: yes, there is such a movie and it does feature both Dracula and a fictionalised version of the infamous outlaw.) A more recent example is this past spring's "Renfield" which also did poorly. It did so poorly, that yours truly didn't bother wasting 10 bucks to go see it on the big screen after he saw the trailer for it. However, he did see "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" and discovered it had been far too underrated. 

A Movie that Expands on a Chapter from the Book

One of the things that makes "Last Voyage" work really good as an adaptation of Stoker's novel is that it's both set in an unusual setting for a Dracula film, the high seas, while yet staying within the story arc of the book. The movie is based on chapter 7 of the novel in which a significant portion of consists of the captain’s log that gives a brief account of the mysterious disappearances of the crew of the Russian schooner, the Demeter. So, this movie expands upon that chapter showing in a sufficient two-hour time frame the details of Dracula's attack on the ship's crew. It's a similar project to that of Universal's much earlier movie, 1935’s "The Bride of Frankenstein", which takes a scene from Mary Shelley's novel, "Frankenstein", and expands upon it. 

I'm not saying this is the best Dracula film made. However, it is far better than what many have given it credit for. The plot is developed in a convincing way by keeping it on route to the main storyline of the novel. The characters are likeable and, overall, believable even in 21st century racial and female inclusivity and so these two are written mostly seamlessly into the story. 

And Dracula's character is made super well! Although he doesn’t speak any lines (like in the 1966 Christopher Lee film, "Dracula Prince of Darkness") he is made to look terrifying with an evil all-fanged grin and a "Nosferatu"-based, hairless bat-like head. The effect of terror works especially great in the glimpses we get of him in half-lights and lightning flashes which are some of the best techniques of the cinematography. 

The movie has a few anachronisms, but they stay mostly hidden provided that you view this film for its thrills and suspense rather than as a scholarly reflection on a past time period.

The Main Problem with the Movie

The biggest problem I actually had with this film (and here's the spoiler) is that, contrary to what the captain's log states in the novel, not everyone on board the Demeter dies in the movie. There's one survivor and although we're glad that he lives because of his heroic qualities, sparing him from the fate of the others takes away the sense of mystery that the disappearance of the crew in the novel conveys so well. Someone living to tell about the arrival of Dracula in England makes us think that the evil count will take no one by surprise. Even so, the movie still leaves off on some degree of a scary note. 

If you like Dracula films, or even horror films in general, for the scares more than for the believability then you'll like "The Last Voyage of the Demeter". But if you like your period horror to be a precise reflection of its time setting, then you may be disappointed with this film. However, because this movie is developed directly from a chapter in Bram Stoker's novel, "Dracula", it easily steers away from the cheesiness that many Dracula movies run into when they put the count in a setting other than those that dominate the book. 

Credit: The blogger

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Have you seen “The Last Voyage of the Demeter”? Have you read its source material, Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula”?

Until next time . . .