2nd New Dracula Film for 2023 (Last Voyage of the Demeter)

Everyone is loving this new horror movie about Dracula on a boat – including Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro
Amy West
Fri, August 11, 2023 at 4:52 AM PDT

The Last Voyage of the Demeter has finally docked into cinemas in the US, and its arrival has sparked a boat-load of hilarious Dracula memes. While the horror-thriller has received mostly negative reviews, social media users are reveling in its not-so-novel premise, which sees a ship's crew terrorized by a vampiric stowaway.

Based on 'The Captain's Log', a chapter from Bram Stoker's 1897 book Dracula, the movie stars Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, and The Boogeyman's David Dastmalchian. André Øvredal, who has previously helmed genre flicks like The Autopsy of Jane Doe and Trollhunter, directs

Some aren't enjoying the bit as much, however, suggesting that those poking fun at the Demeter's Alien or Snakes on a Plane-esque plot clearly aren't familiar with the fact that Dracula ends up at sea in several titles.

"What's astonishing about wading through the great 'Dracula on a boat' memes is how many people aren't in on the joke," one critic wrote, alongside stills from Dracula (1931), Nosferatu, and Dracula (1979). "Like, the boatfuls of people who are completely unaware that 'Dracula on a boat' has been a sequence in almost every Dracula movie. He was never not on a boat."

While it's unlikely anyone writing about the film above had actually seen it yet when they tweeted, Twitter has also seen its fair share of endorsements of the fang-filled flick from those who were able to check it out prior to release.

"I was doubtful about THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER, but it's a throat-ripping good time. It reminded me of the best of the Hammer movies from the 60s and 70s," said author Stephen King.


"I enjoyed Last Voyage of the Demeter so much: gorgeous, lavish and savage," gushed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. And well, given those two's works, that's all the reassurance we need.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is in US cinemas now, though we've yet to receive news on when it'll release in the UK. Initially, it was due to come out on the same day as overseas, but when eOne – the distributor handling the film in the UK, as opposed to Universal in the US – was acquired by Lionsgate, it was suddenly pulled from the schedule. Elsewhere, theater chain Cineworld confirmed the movie "has been delayed indefinitely".

For more, check out our list of upcoming horror movies coming our way throughout 2023 and beyond.