This underappreciated horror film was adapted from a chapter entitled, "The Captain's Log" found in Bram Stoker's original novel, "Dracula". It is a period horror film taking place entirely on the ship that carried Dracula from Romania to England.
Even though, the title "last Voyage" predestines the film, it is still a scary joyride that takes pleasure in its shocks and gore. Director Andre Ovredal heightens the suspense and tension shooting in a claustrophobic setting, keeping views of Dracula to a minimum. Bear McCreary's atmospheric score also pairs perfectly to build the permeating sense of dread.
When the film starts, the ship is found wrecked off the coast of England with no survivors. We then flash back four weeks to the start of the voyage. The plot is simple. Once Dracula is loose on the ship, it's only a matter of time for who dies, when and how. It was a nice surprise, though, to discover some conventions are not followed.
The film stars Cory Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, Woody Norman, and Javier Botet as Dracula. While there is obvious need for some CGI, Mr. Botet probably endured hours of make-up to play a real version of the famous vampire. And this version, Dracula is portrayed more like Nosferatu than Bela Lugosi.
Unlike many of today's horror films (filled with teens as victims or just plain torture porn), this is a well done, throwback horror thriller that at times, actually had me on the edge of my seat.
In other words, it doesn't suck.
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