Nights of Horror: The Last Voyage of the Demeter
The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
One of the things I love about André Øvredal is that he always accomplishes exactly what he says he's going to. The Autopsy of Jane Doe and Trollhunter are both beautifully executed. Neither of them tries to break new ground or tell you something you don't know, they just say "hey you might like this" and then immediately deliver straightforward, unsettling Mood. And I like it.
I liked Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, too. As a lifelong fan of the books, I thought this was a fun way to get all those stories into one piece. It sets an intention and it meets it. Even though it's definitely for kids, I still think about it often enough, especially in certain long hospital hallways with lights that tend to go red.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter has been in development hell for 20 years, and I'm so glad it's finally out and it is exactly what it is. It's played straight, and it's well done. The schooner itself is magnificent, the ever-present creaking of the wet wood and whining of the saltwater-soaked hinges lend to a feeling of constant moisture. Or maybe that was from David Dastmalchian (the most, maybe only, age appropriate of my Hollywood crushes) delivering the heart-rending performance of the summer as the first mate to Liam Cunningham's captain. Both of these men are standouts amongst truly lovely performances throughout.
I thought some of the dialogue was lame in the first act, but I mean, consider the original source material. That they were able to pull a whole proper 2 hour film from a single chapter in the Dracula novel is a feat in itself, and it deserved to get this detailed attention. (If you know me, you know I have an affinity for maritime disasters so this would have been a special interest regardless.) It gave voices and faces to characters who I immediately cared about. This small crew, not unlike the crew of the Nostromo, were so immediately believable as a tight knit group that I enjoyed every ensemble scene.
Our lead, Corey Hawkins, is a strong and serious doctor who joins this crew as the quickest way to get back to England. He's firm in his stance as a non-believer, and his discussions with crew members of varying faiths are a lifeline through the course of the movie. There is a lovely moment where he says he wants to understand the world, and another character says "perhaps it isn't meant to be understood, maybe it's meant to be experienced and accepted." And this is BEFORE anything has gone wrong, so I heard it and thought "oh that's fatalistic but rather nice." It stuck in my mind and filled me with dread as the story progressed.
By the time shit started going down, plot wise, I recall thinking "oh NO, this is a doomed voyage, I forgot! Noooo " and it stirred in me a refreshing concern for the well-being of everyone involved. I legitimately gave a few seconds of thought to the concept of "well.... maybe they all abandon ship and live happily ever after, how about that?" Don't ever tell me what you plan to do with your bonus, I'm gonna be very sad when you don't get to do it. I spent a lot of this movie sad. It's a doomed voyage and has been since 1897. I'm not spoiling anything.
I will say though, I expect some people will have some.... feelings.... about the ending. But I found it exhilarating and exciting. Bear McCreary's gorgeous score is a big part of that, though. But of course everything he touches is gold. And piggybacking on an original Thomas Newman concept is never bad thing. I doubt Bear used any of Newman's material, but a vibe is a vibe.
Honorable mention to the stunning visual effects. Javier Botet as our monster is awarded a TON of screen time, and every scene he is in is more detailed and scarier than the last. We get excellent coverage of his biology, how he moves, and it is so beautifully touchable that I know my latex fetishists are going to be asking (especially during a particular scene) "WHERE CAN I GET THAT?!" I'm not even a latex fetishist and I thought "I uh.... I want that to happen to me."
4 out of 5 skulls for being exactly what it set out to be without offering TOO much fan service. It suffers from a weak script, but makes up for it in beauty, mood, and scares.