The Last Voyage of the Demeter 2023

On August 6, 1897, the Demeter, a merchant ship, arrives on the shores of England in a state of ruin. Among the remnants, authorities discover the captain’s log, written by Captain Eliot. The tale unfolds a month earlier in Varna, Bulgaria, where the Demeter docks to collect cargo bound for London. This cargo, transported from Romania in ominously large wooden crates, raises concern among the locals, who refuse to assist in loading it, urging the crew to depart before sunset. Despite their warnings, Wojchek (David Dastmalchian) and his colleague Olgaren (Stefan Kapicic) begin the loading process.

Clemens (Corey Hawkins), a physician with a degree from the University of Cambridge, overhears the crew’s need for hands. He attempts to offer his medical expertise, but Wojchek opts for an older hire instead. However, when this man mistakenly releases a crate—fearful of a dragon emblem etched on it—Clemens intervenes, saving Eliot’s grandson, Toby (Woody Norman), from a crushing fate. Grateful for Clemens’ quick thinking, Eliot appoints him as a replacement crew member.

As the ship journeys through the Aegean Sea, intrigue escalates when a crate breaks open in the cargo hold, revealing a dirt-covered woman. With her life hanging by a thread, Clemens administers life-saving blood transfusions to treat her mysterious ailment. However, their eerie expedition becomes more perilous when Olgaren collapses and begins to exhibit signs of vampirism after an encounter with the ship’s stowaway, Anna (Aisling Franciosi). She tells them chilling tales of the creature from Transylvania—Dracula (Javier Botet)—a monster that demands blood for mercy.

Chaos erupts aboard as Dracula hunts the crew at night, leading to tragic consequences when Olgaren becomes his thrall and Toby is bitten. The crew’s desperate measures to contain the threats ultimately culminate in heart-wrenching losses, turning the ship into a battleground between humanity and dark forces. During a fraught funeral for Toby, he rises to attack, forcing Clemens to act decisively and throw him overboard before his nature can fully transform.

With the crew in survival mode, Captain Eliot, Abrams (Chris Walley), and Wojchek fall victim to Dracula’s wrath. In a tense bid for freedom, Anna is bitten while trying to save Clemens but ultimately fights back, using her strength to fend off the vampire. In the midst of the turmoil, Anna confesses to Clemens her impending transformation into a creature of the night. As dawn breaks, choosing to end her suffering, she makes the tragic decision to self-immolate, leaving Clemens alone on the ocean.

Clemens washes ashore in London, burdened by grief and memories of his fallen comrades. Seeking solace in a local tavern, he sketches Anna’s portrait, haunted by their shared ordeal. Just as he begins to regain composure, the chilling knock from the Demeter’s crew echoes in his mind. When he encounters Dracula, now clad as an aristocrat, laughter echoes in the eerie atmosphere. Driven by vengeance and in honor of the lives lost aboard the Demeter, Clemens vows to rid the world of the vampire menace once and for all, forever marking this journey as one of survival against dark legacies.