Last Voyage of the Demeter - A real "Captain's Log"

The Last Voyage of the Demeter - André Øvredal - 2023

★★★-This is a movie adapted from the “The Captain's Log” chapter in Bram Stoker's 1897 Dracula novel. It follows the ill-fated crew of the merchant ship Demeter as they struggle to survive an ocean voyage from Transylvania to London as Dracula picks them off one by one. Basically Alien meets The Terror. 

It is a bummer of a movie, as you'd imagine if you know anything about this part of the book. If not, they'll tell you in the first minute of the film. 

The passage was a personal favorite part of the book and was rife with potential. I've always thought of the section as Dracula completely unhinged with no consequences. But in this film, they took it as also having no personality. Had a friend that said it was fun, and that was all I needed. However, pretty meh.

When I saw the trailer before Oppenheimer, I assumed it wasn't going to be great. The little they showed of Dracula looked bad. Looked like Golem in 2003 CGI. Plus, a late summer horror movie is almost always a bad sign. Studios either push it out with the blockbusters or during the Halloween season. 

Directed by André Øvredal, his sixth film (though I've never heard of his first, Future Murder, which doesn't appear to be available anywhere and doesn't have a Wikipedia page). I've seen the horror films at least—this includes Trollhunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Of those, this was my least favorite of his films.

Spent over 30 years in development hell. It was originally conceived back in 1992 on the back of the Francis Ford Coppola film Bram Stoker's Dracula starring Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Anthony Hopkins. However, the project languished in limbo until Amblin Partners acquired the rights in 2019.

Stars Corey Hawkins as Clemens, the ship's doctor. His treatments mostly consist of him pumping his own blood straight from his body into someone Dracula has fed on. While I personally may be no physician, I do know you can't just put any old blood into another person's body. A quick Google search says if a person is given the wrong blood type, depending on the types of bloods involved, the result is a major hemolytic transfusion reaction. What happens is, “the recipient’s immune system vigorously attracts the donated blood. The cells are ripped apart, tons of bad chemicals are released, and the person gets super sick. The kidneys can fail… first reddish urine then shutdown. The person can develop a severe flu like illness. They can go into shock and ultimately die. Mortality is high without treatment, and considerable even with it.” So, yeah, playing it fast and loose with that whole “do no harm” bit. Anyway, you might remember Hawkins from The Walking Dead, for his portrayal of Dr. Dre in Straight Outta Compton, or from the Spike Lee flick BlacKkKlansman. 

Also stars Game of Thrones alums Aisling Franciosi (she played Lyanna Stark) and Liam Cunningham as Captain Elliot (he was Davos Seaworth in GoT and has an insane amount of titles to his name). David Dastmalchian kind of steals the show as the first mate. He had a memorable role in The Dark Knight, was Kurt and Veb in the Ant-Man franchise, and played Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad. He has worked with Denis Villeneuve as well, appearing in Prisoners, Blade Runner 2049, and Dune. Javier Botet, a go-to monster/creature actor, plays Dracula. 

It was serviceable, with really solid performances, a claustrophobic feel, and good practical effects. I am a sucker for ship movies, especially olde timey ones, on that front it worked. When it is a slow burn, I liked it. But it's unoriginal, adding little to the story, the CGI was not good, it was too long, the end was dumb, and overall forgettable. Plus, a dog and animals die... And also humans, obviously. If you are a big vampire/Dracula fan, you'll dig it. Otherwise, probably worth skipping. 

Boston Strangler - Matt Ruskin - 2023

★★★- Zodiac lite with some shades of Spotlight. You can watch it right now on Hulu. One of their originals. It's pretty good, but not nearly as great as its obvious predecessors. Though the combo of Keira Knightly (what a talent) and Carrie Coon (Gone Girl, Ghostbusters: Afterlife) makes this an enjoyable watch; however, the film has some problems. 

Gist of the movie is reporter Loretta McLaughlin (Knightly) breaks the story of the Boston Strangler murders. As the killer's body count rises, she continues the investigation alongside colleague veteran investigative journalist Jean Cole (Coon). The film has a lot to say about how shitty it was to be a working woman in 1960s, how cops sometimes take the easiest narratives, and how powerful old-school journalism used to be.

In addition to Knightly and Coon, the film stars Robert John Burke (I think of him as the lead in Thinner), Rory Cochrane (Dazed and Confused, Freck in A Scanner Darkly), Chris Cooper (Adaptation, American Beauty), David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight, Suicide Squad, Dune), and Alessandro Nivola (The Many Saints of Newark, American Hustle).

Moves a little fast and the story is all over the place. The beats keep coming at you. She's at a crime scene, now she's talking to a cop, now she's home, now she's at work, now she's talking to another cop, now she's at a bar with her writing partner, now she's getting chewed out by her editor, now she's arguing with her husband. Repeat like six or seven times. Listened to a podcast about this and the possible Ann Arbor connection called Stranglers. Not sure I would have been a follow all this without having a 12-part docuseries under my belt.

I sort of hate mine and everyone's fascination with serial killers. They disgust and repulse me to no end. Yet I consume a lot of media based on these sick fucks whom I loath for bringing so much suffering into the world. All the victims die bad. Every once in a while I watch something so disturbing that I have to stop. Such has been the case for the last couple months. But goddamn do I love an investigative journalism movie. 

More than anything I love how they show the life of a journalist living a story. I've been there. It's a tough grind. You put in an incredible amount of time for no money, but there is nothing like it. That buzz of election night, basketball sectionals, watching the cops bring in a murderer. Thinking hard about it. Pouring your soul out. You live for that shit. Like a lot of movies like this, the film does a great job of putting you in that world. Hesitantly recommend.