Demeter's Final Journey: Breaking the Curse of Dracula's Disappointing Film Legacy

Summary

The Last Voyage of the Demeter has received a low Rotten Tomatoes score of 36%, continuing a negative trend for modern Dracula adaptations.

This marks the third poorly-rated Dracula movie in the past year, starting with The Invitation at 29% and Renfield at 58%.

Two upcoming Dracula adaptations could turn around this negative trend.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is adding to the disappointing trend of modern adaptations of Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula on Rotten Tomatoes. This new film, released in theaters on August 11, expands on the chapter "The Captain's Log," which depicts Dracula's deadly infiltration of a ship traveling from Transylvania to London. The cast includes Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, and David Dastmalchian, with Javier Botet portraying Dracula.

Rotten Tomatoes has officially given The Last Voyage of the Demeter a poor score of 36 percent, marking the third negative rating for a Dracula movie in the past twelve months. This streak of underwhelming performances for the iconic vampire began with The Invitation in August 2022, which received a 29 percent score and stars Nathalie Emmanuel as a young woman who uncovers her family's dark secret of being vampires. Following that, the April release Renfield, a sequel to 1931's Dracula, received a 58 percent score, featuring Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his assistant Renfield.

Is There Hope for Dracula in the 2020s?

Renfield not only received a negative Rotten Tomatoes score but also suffered significant losses at the box office. Despite featuring prominent stars like Awkwafina alongside Cage and Hoult, and having a budget of $65 million, it only managed to earn $26.7 million in theaters. Although The Invitation made a profit, generating $38 million from its $10 million budget, it fell behind several successful horror releases of the year, including Prey for the Devil, Scream, Smile, Halloween Ends, The Black Phone, and Barbarian.

Whether or not The Last Voyage of the Demeter can overcome these box office challenges remains uncertain. Unfortunately, its $37 million budget might hinder its success if the low Rotten Tomatoes score discourages a portion of its potential audience. Nonetheless, despite the recent decline in Stoker adaptations, there is still potential for Dracula in the upcoming years.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter might be the final major Dracula adaptation to receive unfavorable reviews for a while, as two highly regarded directors are taking on future projects related to the character. Chloé Zhao, an Oscar winner, is currently developing a mysterious Dracula film that combines elements of science fiction and Western genres. Meanwhile, Robert Eggers, the director of The Witch, is in charge of a remake of Nosferatu (the original film was an unauthorized version of Dracula), with Bill Skarsgård as the lead. The release of either of these movies could potentially rejuvenate Dracula's prospects in the 2020s.