Universal's Forgotten Vampire Thriller The Last Voyage of the Demeter Is Officially Back From the Dead on Streaming

You know what's spookier than a boat? A spooky boat. And that's exactly what André Øvredal (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) had in his arsenal when he took on just one chapter of the most famous horror story ever published. Rather than retelling Bram Stoker's entire novel, this movie expands a single portion of Dracula into a monster flick, and it ends up exactly as you'd expect — in carnage.

After sinking on the box office seas, The Last Voyage of the Demeter has officially been given a life raft on Peacock, where it arrived on September 10. The film tells the story of a doomed crew bound for London with a mysterious cargo. Then, the merchant ship Demeter becomes a floating nightmare when a bloodthirsty presence begins stalking the crew. As terror spreads across the open sea, Captain Elliot, first mate Wojchek, stowaway Anna, and physician Clemens race to uncover what is hiding aboard before the voyage turns deadly.

The cast is led by Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton) as Clemens, alongside Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale) as Anna, Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) as Captain Eliot, David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad) as Wojchek, Jon Jon Briones (Ratched) as Joseph, Stefan Kapičić (Deadpool) as Olgaren, Martin Furulund (Made in Oslo) as Larsen, and Javier Botet (It) as Dracula.

Was 'The Last Voyage of the Demeter' Successful?

Sadly, it wasn't a hit at the box office. The film was made for around $45 million but earned around half of that at the worldwide box office, making it a bona fide box office bomb, which is a disappointment to say the least. As for the critical response, it was mixed, but the film has developed a following among horror fans, who appreciate its atmospheric approach and monster-movie interpretation of Dracula.

Collider's review was ultimately let down by the film, giving it a C+ and arguing that its promising premise is undermined by sluggish pacing, repetitive storytelling, and a lack of genuine scares. That said, there was plenty of praise for the cast, particularly Hawkins and Franciosi, and for Botet as the creature performer for making Dracula an unsettling and occasionally playful monster, with the film at its best when the vampire is actively tormenting the doomed crew. The main criticism was how predictable and dated it all felt.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is streaming now on Peacock.