Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Last Voyage of the Demeter.
The film The Last Voyage of the Demeter hit Brazilian cinemas on August 24, delivering a story that blends horror with fantasy. It is based on chapter seven of Bram Stoker's book, originally called "The Captain's Log." The plot follows a crew aboard the merchant ship Demeter, terrorized by Dracula, the greatest vampire of all time.
To adapt this story for the big screen, Norwegian director André Ovredal (The Autopsy of Jane Doe) had to make several modifications, given that the chapter is short—only about 10 pages—and needed further development. Consequently, new characters were introduced, and the ending was also altered. With that in mind, we've listed the main differences between the book and the movie. Read on to find out more.
The Start of the Story
Those who've read Dracula know that chapter seven begins with Mina Murray, one of the vampire's infatuations, discovering the ship's log written by the Demeter's captain. However, in the film, it's a group of police officers who find the wreckage of the ship, and one of them discovers the logbook.
Upon reading it, he is shocked by the terrifying accounts stating that a curse was aboard the ship and begs God to have mercy on everyone's souls. This introduction helps set the eerie atmosphere the movie aims to create.
Another difference is that the movie is not told in the first person and focuses more on the character Clemens (Corey Hawkins), a doctor who joins the crew to get from Romania to London as quickly as possible.
Additional Characters
Speaking of Clemens, although he's one of the film's protagonists, he doesn't appear in the Dracula chapter. The black doctor, a Cambridge graduate who struggles to find work due to racial prejudice, was created specifically for the movie.
In the plot, he evolves from a mere nosy crew member to being responsible for taking care of Anna (Aisling Franciosi), a woman discovered among the cargo who informs the group that Dracula had joined them on this voyage. Anna, as well as Wojchek (David Dastmalchian), another crew member, were also invented for the movie.
Dracula's Appearance
Of all the cast, the one character that couldn't be left out was Dracula himself, as he is the story's villain. In Last Voyage of the Demeter, he appears in various scenes but looks quite different from the description in Stoker's book.
Whereas in the book the vampire is tall, thin, terribly pale, with sharp teeth and a long white mustache, the movie's version resembles more of a savage beast. He has sticky, dark skin, is bald, sports disgusting bat wings, and has a set of teeth reminiscent of a shark's.
If the movie aimed to make him a repulsive creature, steering away from the idea of a handsome, seductive vampire, one could argue that Ovredal hit the mark.
The Method of Killing
Dracula's modus operandi also changes from the book to the film. In the text, he kills slowly and discreetly. However, in the movie, he is not only flashy but also fast and cruel, beheading his victim in seconds and causing a bloodbath.
The Ending
In addition to slightly altering the film's beginning, the director also changed the ending, which was expected, as chapter seven doesn't conclude the story and the film needed a proper conclusion. In the book, Dracula escapes the Demeter by transforming into a dog and leaping off the ship. The movie suggests that he perished along with the rest of the crew.
The sole survivor is Clemens, who tries to start anew in the English capital. However, to everyone's surprise, the vampire shows up in a pub, stalking the doctor.
With this conclusion, Last Voyage of the Demeter leaves the door open for a potential sequel, which would likely follow the doctor becoming a vampire hunter and going after Dracula. It's worth noting that, in Bram Stoker's book, the vampire's foe is another doctor—the legendary Van Helsing.
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