‘Alien in the Ocean’: Dracula as you’ve never seen it before in Demetrius’ latest trip to cinema

Years in the making, Demetrius’ Last Journey is finally out in our darkrooms. Directed by André Ovredal, who previously helmed Trollhunter, The Identity of Jane Doe and Scary Stories, the feature film is inspired by the acclaimed novel.dracula” Published by Bram Stoker in 1897: The Diary of Demetrius from Varna to Whitby.

While the novel has been adapted numerous times for film and television, Demetrius’ Captain’s Log has never been the subject of a film. Now it is.

The film tells the harrowing story of the crossing of the Demetrius, a merchant ship discreetly boarded, bound for London from the Carpathians, carrying a cargo of unidentified wooden crates. Aboard the cursed ship, strange events soon threaten the crew, who must try to escape a strange presence that relentlessly stalks them night after night during this disastrous crossing. The shipwreck, a veritable ghost ship anchored on the coast of England, is nothing more than the shadow of Demetrius, on which there is no longer a living soul.

In terms of casting, fans of the series will recognize Corey Hawkins, seen in The Walking Dead and 24 Hours: Legacy, Liam Cunningham, who played Davos Seaworth in Game of Thrones, Aisling Francios, who briefly lent her features to Lyanna Stark in Game of Thrones in Nikolai Nikolaev appeared in the fourth season of Stranger Things, but also David Dastmalchian, who has already been seen in MacGyver, Gotham and the recent horror film The Croque-mitaine.

Here, Dracula is played by Spanish actor Javier Bote, who is used to portraying scary creatures, having already played Key Face insidious: The Last Key, Slender Man in the film of the same name, Twisted Man in Conjuring 2 and The Monster. mother

The film has been running for almost 20 years

In the project for many years, the idea of ​​the film is dedicated The Last Voyage of Demetrius It emerged in the screenwriter’s mind almost 20 years ago.

In the press kit, producer Bradley J. Fischer recalls: “We were very close to the goal many times. The project attracted a lot of directors. The mystery that surrounds the magazine and what really happened on this ship is out in the open. The sea easily stimulates the imagination.”

Indeed, the script passed through several hands before landing in the hands of the Norwegian director. Thus, Guillermo del Toro was interested but had to decline due to scheduling problems, David Slade (30 Days of Night, Twilight – Chapter 3: Hesitation), Robert Schwentke (Flight Plan), Marcus Nispel (Chainsaw Massacre 2004 version), Stefan Ruzowitzki (Anatomy) and Neil Marshall (The Descent) were also considered.

Casting Noomi Rapace, Ben Kingsley as the Captain and Jude Law were announced before Viggo Mortensen replaced Jude Law as Henry Clemens, who was eventually cast Corey Hawkins!

The project was shelved and appeared ten years later with a completely different team.

Described by director André Ovredal as an “alien in the ocean”, the film is inspired by a chapter of Bram Stoker’s novel, however, the director took some liberties with the original text to surprise the audience.

“Alien in the Ocean”

Thus, it entrusts the microphone of the site bloody disgusting :”We tried to make the film as unpredictable as possible. I always wanted to stay very close to the original text and try to stick to it as much as possible, but of course there are liberties because that’s how it works. It’s a different medium, but I think we’re still very close to Stoker’s intent, mood, and story.“

The latter then explains that he wanted to make Dracula a monstrous creature, far from the romantic image given to the vampire in certain films.

“That was one of the most original aspects of the story. It’s about focusing on this journey, making it a kind of alien in the ocean. The enemy is unknown to the passengers. They’re just sailors carrying boxes and other cargo to England. Dracula from their perspective as a monster invading their world And they can’t run away was one of the biggest draws in the whole script. I mean, on a very fundamental level.

We don’t follow Dracula as a character, as the sophisticated aristocrat that he really is. On this voyage, he is desperate and must kill his crew members in order to survive. It’s kind of a survival story on his part. I think this is an important aspect of this story.“

It’s in “Alien” Ocean in 1897, where Dracula is an alien.

The director continues:This is truly an era of horror. It’s a big trip across Europe, from Varna to the coast of England, and it’s a haunted house on the sea, like Alien on the Ocean in 1897, but with Dracula as the alien. This is the feeling we were looking for. It’s a bigger, broader story for a horror movie.“

And to give life to his creation, the director called on the Spaniards Javier Botetti with whom he previously collaborated on horror stories. He explains: “In our discussions surrounding the Dracula translator, Javier was clearly at the top of the list. We wanted someone who could be something else, who would behave in ways you wouldn’t expect and through hyperlax (Editor’s Note: Excessive elasticity of certain tissues) He can do it all. But he also has a lot of talent and I adore him.”

“it was crazy”

But the biggest challenge was not the creature, but organizing the scenes with water. “The Last Voyage of Demetrius”, filmed during his imprisonment, was a real headache Andre Ovredal, of which this was the first marine film. Although many scenes were shot in the studio, the team traveled to Malta for the outdoor sequences.

“Shooting in the ocean or in a reservoir is a real challenge. Especially when you’re adding special effects in the rain with wind machines, on a rocking boat and with water leaking everywhere. You have to be able to coordinate and make it all work. We shot in Malta, so when the wind was coming off the Mediterranean, everything We had to block the boat so it wouldn’t capsize, it was crazy.“

The Last Voyage of Demetrius You can see it in theaters today.