Horror 2026 Countdown: The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

 The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023), dir. Andre Ovredal, Dreamworks Pictures/Reliance Entertainment/Storyworks Productions/Studio Babelsberg/Phoenix Pictures/Wise Owl Media

Moving into the Universal adjacent section, we have the OTHER Dracula film from 2023.

August 6, 1897

The cargo ship the Demeter runs aground just off the coast of Whitby on the English coast. The only crewmember aboard is Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham), and his dead body tied to the wheel. 

One month eariler 

In the port of Varna in Bulgaria, the Demeter is making dock. It is about to set sail, however, with some very specific cargo, namely a series of large boxes. The quartermaster Wojchek (David Dastmalchian) takes the boxes onboard and hires some new crewmembers to help with the trip. He rejects Dr. Clemmons (Corey Hawkins) in favor of an older man, but his choice freaks out when he spots a stylized dragon on the boxes and flees. He drops one of the boxes while loading and injures the captain's grandson Toby (Woody Norman) but Clemmons proves his worth and saves the boy. 

With that first impression out of the way, we met the rest of the crew as they set sail. As they hit the open ocean, another box topples over and breaks, revealing a woman buried in dirt. Anna (Aisling Franciosi) is alive but only barely. Clemmons starts her on a series of blood transfusions, hoping that will improve her sickly conditon. 

The omens keep coming, with all the ship's animals dying overnight. Blaming the deaths on rabies, they toss everything overboard. One of the crew disappears without a trace. In the morning, Anna is feeling better but still weak. She explains that she was given as a bride to a monster her people call 'Dracula' (Javier Botet), in hopes he would spare her village. She explains they are all in the gravest of danger and that the vampire lord is hiding somewhere on the boat. 

Dracula then hunts and stalks the crew down until only a few remain. Can this beast be stopped?

If you saw the opening, no, no he can't. 

I was never a huge fan of prequels in general and this is largely why. If you've read or seen the countless adaptations of Stoker's work you know exactly how this story ends and you already know who, what, and the where so why? Why even have the story in the first place?

Really could have used Nicholas Cage