The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

Director: André Øvredal

Starring: Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham

A crew sailing from Varna (Bulgaria) by the Black Sea to England find that they are carrying very dangerous cargo.

When a ship is found washed ashore with no survivors, the Captain’s log book is found which details the events leading to the ship’s demise.

The film goes back one month, with the ship getting ready to set sail. Among its cargo are 50 crates, which are being shipped from Romania to England. On board is a doctor named Clemens (Corey Hawkins), who volunteered when he overheard the ship is looking for crewman, and convinced Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) with his medical skills. On the first night, Clemens discovers a young woman buried in a crate in the cargo hold. Realizing her blood is infected, he performs blood transfusion. But another threat awaits the crewmen…

The idea of being stuck on a ship on the open seas with monsters on board, is the stuff nightmares are made off. I loved the setting on the ship, and the confines with no way of escape made the film all the more suspenseful. The film is relentless in its scares, and was actually frightening at times! Because most of the action happens at night, this is a rather dark film – and I mean literally.

We never see Dracula in human form. He is a hideous winged creature feeding on innocent victims – pure evil, and one of the creepiest antagonists I’ve seen in a while! This is a new take on the vampire/Dracula genre and I absolutely loved it! There are a few surprises I didn’t expect. This was amazing!

Would I watch it again? Yes.