Blu-ray Review: THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER (Collector’s Edition)

Home » Blu-ray Review: THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER (Collector’s Edition)

Oct 16, 2023 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

In August of 1897, the Demeter washes ashore in Whitney, England, with no sign of its crew—or anything living—on board. 4 weeks earlier, the ship is about to set sail from Varna, Bulgaria to England, when the Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) and his crew receive some ominous warnings from the travelers who dropped off the ship’s cargo—several wooden crates filled with dirt, and marked with a black dragon. But they don’t think much about this. This is to be the captain’s final voyage before he retires, and joining him on the trip are his grandson Toby (Woody Norman), first mate/successor Wojchek (David Dastmalchian), doctor Clemens (Corey Hawkins), the cook, and 5 more crew members. However, it isn’t long after they set sail that things start to go awry.

The first night, the crew hears clattering from cargo hold, but just find a mound of dirt when they go to investigate, along with an unconscious woman, Anna (Aisling Franciosi), who appears to have stowed away, and is suffering from some sort of mystery illness. While some of the crew members see her as a sign of bad luck, and want to throw her overboard, Clemens tends to the woman, giving her a blood transfusion to help prevent an infection. The next night, all of the livestock aboard the ship are killed. While some superstitious crew members believe the animals attacked one another due to their extra passenger, but upon examining the bodies, Clemens isn’t so sure. The following evening, a crew member thinks he caught a glimpse of a creature on the ship’s deck, but scoffs it off. However, when the ship’s rats also disappear, the crew begin to wonder if there really is something on board. But it’s already too late, the creature has begun stalking its human prey, and one-by-one the crew start disappearing, or showing up brutally wounded. Can the crew figure out what this creature is, and find a way to stop it before any more of them are slaughtered, or even worse, this thing manages to make its way to England where it can feast endlessly.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is based on a chapter from Bram Stoker’s iconic novel Dracula. However, this is not the part of the story that typically gets told in movies. This chapter follows the Captain’s Log account of the Demeter’s doomed final voyage to England, unknowingly with the vampire Dracula on board. But this isn’t the dapper, tuxedo-wearing Dracula we typically see—as the ship first sets sail, Dracula is this weak, frail, feral Nosferatu-like creature. As it feeds on the blood of the animals and humans, it grows stronger, deadlier and more bloodthirsty, but still looks more creature than human. The filmmakers do a nice job of initially just giving the viewer small glimpses of this creature to build the suspense and tension, before letting it be seen in all its grotesque detail.

The film initially starts off as a bit of a detective story, with Clemens trying to identify what has killed the livestock, and then it moves into more of a horror/slasher film as the creature starts to attack the crew. The passengers are trapped on a ship in the middle of the ocean, with no way to get away from this bloodthirsty creature. Add to this the dark and stormy nights, and you’ve got the perfect setting for a creepy thriller. In the bonus material, the director likens the movie to Alien, and I can definitely see that—on the open sea, no one can hear you scream.

The filmmakers have done an excellent job of taking this short piece of the Dracula novel that is often ignored, and building it into an exciting atmospheric period horror movie. If I had any complaints, it’s some of the dumb decisions made by this crew, such as sending people out on their own to watch the deck of the ship—where people seem to go missing—and how even after the crew gets some glimpse that sunlight could possibly hurt the creature, they instead still decide the best course of action is to continue to hunt the beast in the darkness of night. However, these kinds of decisions are pretty much the staple of slasher/horror movies. The film builds to an exciting, action-packed conclusion, ultimately setting things up for a possible franchise—I would definitely watch more films set in this universe.

UPHE has only released The Last Voyage of the Demeter on Blu-ray & DVD, but it is also available in 4K via Digital. I was sent the Blu-ray for review. The picture quality is great, with an incredibly clean and clear picture throughout. The rich, earthy and blue tones look beautiful, especially when just lit by lamplight. Even when it gets really dark, there’s never a moment where you can’t make out what’s happening. The visual effects also blend in seamlessly and look quite realistic (it was quite impressive to see in the bonus material just how much visual effects were utilized). The film’s Atmos audio track is excellent. While dialogue primarily comes from the center channel, the rest of the track is well utilized to provide a fully-immersive experience. The sounds of the waves crashing, the storm surrounding the ship, and the ever-present creaking of floorboards and clattering from the cargo hold transports the viewer right onto this ship in the middle of all the chaos.

The Blu-ray release includes both a Blu-ray and a DVD, placed on either side of a standard HD keepcase, which is covered by a glossy, embossed cardboard slipcover. An insert provides instructions on how to redeem an HD digital copy of the film, as well as a code to redeem for Universal Rewards points on the flip side. The bonus material is the same on both discs, consisting of a filmmaker commentary, 14 minutes of deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary, and over 25 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast/crew.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:58:30)

1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

DVD:

480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (code may not be valid after 1/31/2025):

HD Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)
Universal All-Access Rewards Code (Offer may not be valid after 1/31/2025)
Code can be redeemed for points towards a free digital movie via the Universal All-Access Rewards program. The selection of a dozen free digital titles usually changes around the first of the month.

Extras:
Play All, or select from:

Alternate Opening (2:24)
As a police officer searches the deck of the ship, he finds the captain’s body and sees a black wolf with glowing red eyes run off. Optional commentary with director André Øvredal and producer Bradley J. Fischer
Deleted Scenes (11:49)
Collection of 8 deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary by director André Øvredal and producer Bradley J. Fischer. Scenes have temp effects and no music. Play All, or select from:
- Clemens Picking up a Stone in Varna (:30)
  Clemens picks up a stone to bring back to his father.
- Bosphorus and Constantinople (:50)
  The ship goes through the busy port.
- Clemens Following Huck’s Blood Trail (2:32)
  As Clemens tracks the dog’s blood trail, he realizes that the animals did not attack one another.
- Clemens and Anna Talk on Deck (2:24)
  Clemens tells Anna why he’s collecting the stones, while Anna talks about never having left her own village.
- Crew Discuss Where the Beast Is Hiding (:24)
  The crew tries to figure out where the creature is hiding.
- Finding the Corpses in the Crate (2:06)
  Clemens and Anna find bodies in the crates in the cargo hold.
- Wojchek Finds the Captain (1:20)
  Wojchek finds the captain oddly staring at the wall, talking to himself.
- Clemens Visits His Father’s Grave (1:40)
  Clemens is back on land, dropping the rocks off at his father’s grave.
From the Pits of Hell: Dracula Reimagined (7:11)
The cast and crew talk about the story, the look of Dracula, the performance behind the creature, the special effects, shooting practically, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, artwork and models, and interviews with director André Øvredal, producers Bradley J. Fischer & Mike Medavoy, creature effect supervisor/lead makeup artist Göran Lundström, and stars David Dastmalchian (“Wojchek.), Liam Cunningham (“Captain Eliot”), Corey Hawkins (“Clemens”), Aisling Franciosi (“Anna”) & Javier Bodet (“Dracula/Nosferatu”).
Evil Is Aboard: The Making of The Last Voyage of the Demeter (10:44)
The cast and crew talk about the source material, how the film came about, the characters, the monster, learning how to rig a ship, the filming locations and sets, prosthetics, the stunts, the score, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, artwork and models, and interviews with director André Øvredal, producers Mike Medavoy & Bradley J. Fischer, production designer Edward Thomas, stunt coordinator/second unit director Casey O’Neill. and stars Corey Hawkins, David Dastmalchian, Liam Cunningham, Aisling Franciosi, Nikolai Nikolaeff (“Petrofsky”), Jon Jon Briones (“Joseph”), Chris Walley (“Abrams”), Stefan Kapicic (“Olgaren”) & Woody Norman (“Toby”).
Dracula & The Digital Age (8:34)
A look at how cutting-edge digital effects were utilized to enhance the look of the film, especially with the creature, the port city, the stormy seas, the ship, the fog, the blood and gore, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, demonstrations of how layers of effects were added, concept artwork, and interviews with visual effects supervisor Brad Parker and star Corey Hawkins.
Feature Commentary (1:58:39)
Director André Øvredal and producer Bradley J. Fischer talk about working on the film, the filming locations, the lore of Dracula, and more. They share some interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the productions, and discuss how and where VFX were utilized.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is an entertaining new take on the Dracula story, exploring a part of the novel that usually gets overlooked for film adaptations. The result is a tense horror/thriller, and an interesting and frightening new look for Dracula. Universal’s Blu-ray release looks great and sounds amazing, and includes a solid selection of bonus material. This is a must own for any fan of the film, and an easy recommendation for anyone looking for some new thrilling Halloween-season entertainment.