Dracula is back with The Last Voyage of the Demeter, one of the last summer 2023 blockbuster movies to hit movie theaters. But is The Last Voyage of the Demeter based on any preexisting Dracula mythology, and if so what?
Since the early days of cinema, Dracula has been one of the most iconic on-screen monsters. Many movies have taken their inspiration directly from Bram Stoker's classic novel where the vampire first appeared (Nosferatu, Dracula, Bram Stoker's Dracula), while others have gone in some different directions (Blade Trinity, Van Helsing, 2023's Renfield).
The Last Voyage of the Demeter is going to fall in both camps. Let us explain.
What is The Last Voyage of the Demeter based on?
The overall premise of The Last Voyage of the Demeter is based on a single chapter in Stoker's 1897 Dracula — "The Captain's Log." Told through log and diary entries, the chapter tells of the arrival of the Demeter, a cargo ship that traveled from the Black Sea port of Varna to Whitby, England. However, its arrival is shrouded in mystery.
The chapter begins with a newspaper article about the arrival of the Demeter at its destination. Witnesses see a large dog run off and find the crew dead, with a corpse strapped to the helm holding a crucifix and a sealed bottle with the log entries.
The log entries detail the strange events that happened aboard the Demeter, which include the disappearance of a number of crew members, the presence of a large dog stalking them on the ship and other strange and worrying sightings. It also makes note of the ship's cargo, which includes 50 boxes of earth.
The captain's log makes note that when it was just he and his first mate, a Romanian who remained, his mate believed that "it" was onboard. He checks the hold and later runs up, throwing himself overboard, shouting "He is there." This is when the captain straps himself to the helm to ensure the ship arrives.
The rest of the chapter reverts to diary entries from Mina Harker and Dr. Seward. Mina writes about the stranger occurrences with her daughter Lucy, including believing she saw a dark figure over her daughter late one night. Dr. Seward, meanwhile, recounts his observations of Renfield, whose demeanor changes and he starts calling out for his "master."
How is The Last Voyage of the Demeter different from Dracula?
Without going into specific details of the movie, we can tell that there are going to likely be a number of differences between The Last Voyage of the Demeter and the events depicted in "The Captain's Log."
The obvious thing is that the movie is going to fill out the events described in the original chapter to ramp up the horror and action elements. There also appear to be a number of characters not referenced in the original source material, including Corey Hawkins' Clemens and Aisling Franciosi as a stowaway on the ship.
The big question is if The Last Voyage of the Demeter is going to strictly adhere to Stoker's fate for all on board the ship, or if they are going to tweak it for one or two of the characters we're bound to be rooting for to survive?
The Last Voyage of the Demeter releases exclusively in movie theaters everywhere on August 11.
