Watch The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) online

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (also known as Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter in some international markets) is a 2023 American supernatural horror film directed by André Øvredal and written by Bragi F. Schut Jr. and Zak Olkewicz. It is an adaptation of "The Captain's Log", a chapter from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. The film stars Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, and David Dastmalchian. The plot follows the doomed crew of the merchant ship Demeter led by Captain Elliot (Cunningham) who attempt to survive the treacherous ocean voyage from Transylvania to London while being stalked by a legendary vampire, known only as Dracula (Javier Botet).

Planning for the film adaptation of "The Captain's Log" began when Schut Jr. wrote the initial spec script when he befriended a colleague who worked on Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), but did not come to fruition by languishing in development hell for more than two decades. After Amblin Partners obtained the rights in October 2019, Øvredal was announced to direct the film. The main cast members were confirmed in 2021. Principal photography began on June 30, 2021, in Berlin, continued in Malta, and ended on October 1. Some of the movie scenes were also recorded in the fortress city of Mdina. Thomas Newman originally composed the film's score, but Bear McCreary served as his replacement due to Newman's scheduling conflicts.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter was theatrically released in the United States on August 11, 2023, by Universal Pictures, to mixed reviews from critics.

On August 6th, 1897, Demeter washes ashore in England. Among the wreckage a captain's log is found by the police.

4 weeks earlier, Demeter makes port in Varna, Bulgaria, picking up cargo to transport to London. The cargo, consisting of multiple large wooden crates, is transported by locals from Romania, who refuse to help load the cargo and wishes the crew good luck. Clemens, a doctor, overhears that the ship is looking for crew members. He attempts to convince the crew that he would be a valuable crew member because of his medical skills and education in astronomy at Cambridge. He is initially rejected by first mate Wojchek, but soon after saves the captain's grandson, Toby, from being crushed by the cargo being loaded on the ship. Captain Elliot is impressed and invites Clemens to join the crew.

In the Aegean Sea, Clemens and crew mate Olgaren see a mysterious figure in the fog on deck. Later, one of the crates falls and breaks open in the cargo hold. Clemens investigates and finds a woman buried in dirt inside. Seeing as how she is barely alive, he performs blood transfusions on her to fight against a seeming infection.

The following night, all of the animals aboard the ship are killed; the crew, fearing a rabies outbreak, throws them all overboard. Anna, the mysterious stowaway, wakes up and warns Clemens about a local monster in her village named Dracula, who she was bound to by her village. Crewmen are slowly killed over the following nights while on watch, with Olgaren being the only one to survive although he must be bound as he behaves erratically. He breaks free one night, hunting down Toby and trapping him in the captain's quarters with Dracula. As the crew attempts to save him, Toby is bitten by Dracula. The next morning, the vampiric Toby and Olgaren burst into flames as the sun rises.

The remaining crew members decide to attempt to drown Dracula and destroy the ship while he is onboard to prevent him from wreaking havoc on London. Captain Elliot and Wojchek are killed before Anna manages to crush Dracula with a part of the mast. Anna and Clemens jump ship, thinking Dracula is doomed. Dracula manages to break free and fly to London before the Demeter washes ashore. Anna reveals that she is turning into a vampire as a result of her infection, with Clemens' blood transfusions delaying her transformation. Not wanting to become a monster like Dracula, Anna willingly immolates in the sunlight as they drift ashore.

Making it to London, Clemens sees Dracula disguised as a human, and vows to hunt him down.