In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a single chapter, The Captain’s Log, is devoted to chronicling the story of the Demeter, the doomed ship that was duped into bringing Dracula to England. Screenwriters Bragi Schut Jr. and Zak Olkewicz expanded on that chapter and turned it into a standalone feature film, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which was directed by André Øvredal.
In this film, Dracula (Javier Botet) is about as far from a romantic figure as you can get, and there will be no kissing for this Lord of the Vampires. At no point in the movie does Dracula even remotely resemble a normal human being. Instead, he is evil incarnate who feeds on the crew and their livestock without any regard for them. Dracula might have remained undiscovered if Anna (Aisling Franciosi) had not been found by Clemens (Corey Hawkins), the new doctor on the Demeter. Because Dracula had been using Anna as his unwilling source of blood, he quickly finds new sources of nourishment.
Hawkins previously starred in The Walking Dead, while Franciosi had a small but pivotal role on Game of Thrones as Ned Stark’s late sister and Jon Snow’s mother, Lyanna Stark. Another Game of Thrones veteran, Liam Cunningham, plays Captain Elliot, while The Suicide Squad‘s David Dastmalchian portrays Elliot’s first mate, Wojchek. The rest of the cast includes Woody Norman as Toby, Jon Jon Briones as Joseph, Stefan Kapičić as Olgaren, Nikolai Nikolaeff as Petrofsky, Martin Furulund as Larsen, Chris Walley as Abrams, and Nicolo Pasetti as Deputy Hirsch.
Now, we’ll tell you about the ending of The Last Voyage of the Demeter and what it means for the events that take place after the movie.
Warning: the rest of this post contains spoilers for The Last Voyage of the Demeter.
How does The Last Voyage of the Demeter end?
The ending of this movie was never in doubt. After all, it is called The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and the opening moments of the film show the wreck of the ship and the alarmed reactions of the authorities before flashing back to four weeks earlier. Judging from the way the crew treated the Demeter, it was a fine ship before Dracula came along. But his presence ensured that the Demeter’s voyage to England was a one-way trip.
By the time the remaining crew of the Demeter realizes that Dracula must be stopped at all costs, there are far too few of them left. Clemens and Anna come up with the idea of using Anna as bait and trapping Dracula on the Demeter before they sink the vessel to the bottom of the sea. What they didn’t know is that Dracula has wings, and their plan may have been doomed from the start. Captain Elliot and Wojchek, give their lives in the effort, but Dracula is only briefly trapped before the Demeter runs aground in England.
Both Clemens and Anna manage to survive by jumping off of the ship and holding on to a piece of wreckage as it approaches the shore. Unfortunately, Anna reveals that while Clemens’ blood transfusions saved her life, they only prolonged her transformation into a vampire. Rather than allow herself to become like Dracula, Anna shares a farewell with Clemens and allows the morning sunlight to burn her to death.
What comes next for Dracula?
With Dracula unleashed in England, the events of Stoker’s novel begin to unfold again …with one key difference. Clemens has also made it to shore, and he has made it his mission to destroy Dracula. Because of his earlier investigation into Dracula’s resting place, Clemens knows where Dracula intends to sleep during his stay in England. And at dawn, Clemens intends to put an end to Dracula’s evil once and for all.
If only it were that simple. In the film’s closing moments, Clemens is alarmed to see that Dracula is not only aware of his survival, the vampire toys with him in a crowded bar before escaping into the night. Regardless, Clemens is not deterred from his quest for revenge. And while Clemens does not encounter any of Dracula’s enemies from the novel, like Jonathan Harker or Abraham Van Helsing, it’s entirely possible that Clemens’ presence could change the events of Stoker’s story if a sequel materializes.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter is now playing in theaters.
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