On the third day of Halloween: The Last Voyage of the Demeter

You can’t have a Halloweenathon without a vampire story. And I’m going to admit up front that I’m an absolute slut for Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. I’ve read the book more times than any other since I was a child. And one of my favorite chapters has always been the Captain’s Log from the doomed seavessel Demeter. It’s one of the most enigmatic portions of Count Dracula’s journey to England, and I’ve often wondered why this story hadn’t been properly told on screen, from the perspective of the crew. It feels like Andre Övredal’s The Last Voyage of thr Demeter in many ways was made specifically for me as the audience.

Because of that, I fundamentally love it. Unconditionally, almost.

I love the addition of the ship’s doctor Clemens (Corey Hawkins) and Dracula’s living blood bag Anna (Aisling Franciosi). Anna fills a gap in Stoker’s original story I’d always wondered about. Of course Dracula would bring at least one person to feed on. I also love the multicultural crew which includes an Asian crew member in Joseph (Jon Jon Briones) as there might have been back then. And the addition of the captain’s grandson Toby (Woody Norman) reminds me of Laddie (Chance Michael Corbitt) from ‘The Lost Boys,’ a film deeply inspired by Stoker’s novel. These character additions are so welcome in the story.

But of course there are aspects of the narrative that trouble me, just as they do from the book. The first is the presentation of Romani communities as Dracula’s helpers, which is against every aspect of Roma culture. In short, they would never. And so their presence here remains racist and problematic. Also, the Anna character is a Romani woman, but played by a white Australian actor — whitewashing the Romani people while contributing to a narrative that the Rom are somehow linked to demonic forces. That they would sell one so their own daughters in service to the devil is hugely offensive and culturally improbable.

If this wasn’t a Dracula story I’d hate it. But since it’s not just a Dracula tale, it’s my favorite chapter of the book, it’ll always offer it a special place to feed on my heart. Others might not be so forgiving.

Lifeboat/5 stars. Highly recommend for fellow OG ‘Dracula’ fans.

Welcome back to Zuzu Zombie’s Halloweenathon, a series of microreviews featuring unusual and mostly out-of-the-box horror movie watchlists for the month of October. Browse the entire 2024 collection here, plus past years. Happy Halloween!

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The post #Halloweenathon2024: ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’ Adapts One of My Favorite Chapters From Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ Novel appeared first on Sezin Devi (Koehler).