THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER is a bit of a surprise; just one section of Dracula’s “uprising” based off of a single chapter of the Bram Stoker classic. The very basic but effective premise has the crew of the Demeter ship dealing with Dracula as a stay. The movie has a solid cast but also featuring one of my favourite actors David Dastmalchian, who is having one incredible year with the SxSW title LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL and also recently with a pivotal role in OPPENHEIMER.
The filmmaker is Andre Overdal, who immediately hit my radar with the overlooked gem TROLL HUNTER which I remember seeing at Fantastic Fest many, many years ago. Since then he has went on to direct several movies of different genres and budgets (one of note was SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK), and DEMETER is definitely a movie of larger scale for him. He still keeps a lot of his genre roots in him as well while at the same time well representing the Dracula legend, which makes for wonderful viewing.
About The Blu Ray:
Universal has provided a pretty terrific Blu Ray release here, although the usual comment about a lack of a 4k HDR release and in this case I would have loved to see the full resolution on display. A gorgeous mixture of blacks, blues and lots of outdoor sea shots still look terrific on this Blu Ray presentation. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack (which converts down to 7.1 on my home system) also fills the room very well with some really aggressive split surrounds and some intense low bass at times. Overall a strong presentation, though it still nags me what could have been with a 4k disc release.
There are more than a few good features on this disc making for a nice Special Edition release including a commentary track from Andre Ovredal and producer Bradley J. Fisher, some deleted scenes with an alternate opening scene along with the usual production features. There is no Digital Copy included, which is a shame as I would have loved to see the movie in 4k on Google Play. Those versions are available for seperate purchase, however.
THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER kind of came and went in cinemas though I think it’s one of the better horror movies of 2023. It’s such a strong example of good filmmakers being let go to put their best work on screen, and I also really loved how it just concentrated on this aspect of Dracula’s story. It’s great to see such a good release from Universal where more people can find it on home video.
THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER is now available on Blu Ray from Universal. Our thanks to Universal and ThinkJam PR for sending along a copy for review.