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Ahoy, dear readers! Prepare yourselves to embark on the not-so-smooth sailing through a tale you thought you knew. The Last Voyage of the Demeter (or Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter in international waters) sets a course for a supernatural journey that’s part sea shanty, part tragic opera, with a sprinkle of horror clichés in between.

“…part sea shanty, part tragic opera, with a sprinkle of horror clichés in between.”

Helmed by André Øvredal, this 2023 frightful cruise, penned by Bragi F. Schut Jr. and Zak Olkewicz, takes a single chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic novel “Dracula” and attempts to stretch it out into a two-hour voyage. Imagine taking a small yet flavorful appetizer and trying to make a five-course meal out of it. It’s ambitious, but can it sustain our horror-loving appetites?

We start at the end, washing ashore on 6th August in England, discovering a captain’s log amongst the wreckage.

In the saturated cinematic world of bloodsuckers, it’s important to carve a niche to help the film stand out from its predecessors. For André Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter, the visual palette drenched in melancholic grays and blues are effective in creating atmosphere, but the film falls prey to predictability.

Written by Bragi F. Schut and Zak Olkewicz and starring Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, David Dastmalchian, Woody Norman and Liam Cunningham, it’s no secret Universal is desperate to get its monster cinematic universe off the ground. This entry into the monster lore is just another backdoor pilot to try and upstart a cinematic Monster universe that may never come to fruition.

The Last Voyage begins in Whitby, England 1897, where the Demeter is shipwrecked, and desolate. The local police discover and try to investigate but are too spooked to continue. The film then backtracks to four weeks earlier in Romania.

Woody Strode as Jake in "The Professionals" (1966). (Photo: Cinema Retro Archive.)

This is too good to be true for retro movie fans. The great Woody Strode will be commemorated with a film festival at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York. Strode, a former professional athlete, was one of the first African-American actors to break the glass ceiling, appearing in supporting roles in many major films. The festival, titled "The Legend of Woody Strode", will offer a rare opportunity to see many of his films on the big screen. Here is the official press release.

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The Legend of Woody Strode

February 11–March 6, 2022

Despite the lack of opportunities for actors of color in his era, Woody Strode left a legacy worth revisiting. Strode, the six-foot-four pioneering athlete turned movie star, was born in 1914, in South Central Los Angeles, to Black and Native American parents.

By Todd Garbarini

Plagiarism, if done willingly and poorly, generally does not go unnoticed and one cannot help but see certain similarities in various works be it literature, art, or cinema. In listening to the audio commentary with author Jonathan Rigby and director Alvin Rakoff on the new, limited edition Blu-ray of 1980’s Death Ship, a horror oddity about an abandoned old ship inhabited by the ghosts of members of the Third Reich(!), a remark is made that the poster for 2002's Ghost Ship was remarkably similar to the poster art for Death Ship, and it’s true that the similarities are uncanny. I can't help but wonder who came up with the idea for the poster for Ghost Ship, as Death Ship was well over twenty-five years-old and seemed to be relegated to the land of forgotten cinema.

Captain Ashland (George Kennedy) is at the helm of a cruise ship,...

Norway gets the old-fashioned disaster film genre up on its feet again with a well-made, scary story set in a Northern fjord, where a devastating tsunami is a genuine threat. Fine acting by fresh faces helps as well -- with no Bs or hype to get in the way, we find ourselves as anxious as the characters in the movie. The Wave Blu-ray Magnolia Home Entertainment 2015 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 min. / Bølgen / Street Date June 21, 2016 / 26.97 Starring Kristoffer Joner, Ane Dahl Torp, Jonas Hoff Oftebro, Edith Haagenrud-Sande, Fridtjov Såheim, Laila Goody, Arthur Berning, Herman Bernhoft. Cinematography John Christian Rosenlund Film Editor Christian Siebenherz Original Music Magnus Beite Written by John Kåre Raake, Harald Rosenløw-Eeg Produced by Are Heidenstrom, Martin Sundland Directed by Roar Uthaug

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Probably the most astounding natural disaster footage we've seen came from Northern Japan in 2011. Much of it is still up on the web. We're...

California's entire earthquake fault line goes haywire, with 9-point-plus shocks on the Jerry Lee Lewis Rigor Mortis scale! The geological wipeouts include Boulder Dam, downtown Los Angeles and most of the San Francisco peninsula. This expensive-looking Dwayne Johnson disaster spectacle looks sensationally good, with excellent 3-D effects and nearly wall-to-wall fun effects work, even if your Cal-tech experts will turn green at some of the overstated Temblor Tech Talk. San Andreas 3-D Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD Warner Home Video 2015 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 114 min. / Street Date October 13, 2015 / 44.95 Starring Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Ioan Gruffudd, Archie Panjabi, Paul Giamatti, Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Art Parkinson, Will Yun Lee, Kylie Minogue. Cinematography Steve Yedlin Film Editor Barry Chusid Production design Bob Ducsay Original Music Andrew Lockinton Written by Carlton Cruse, Andre Fabrizio, Jeremy Passmore Produced by Beau Flynn Directed by Brad Peyton

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Computer Generated Imagery has evolved to the...

Things have been kind of quiet when it comes to the two new projects we’re really excited for from director Neil Marshall, his remake of Troll Hunter and the new Dracula tale The Last Voyage of the Demeter, but that… Continue Reading →

The post Neil Marshall Talks Troll Hunter and The Last Voyage of the Demeter appeared first on Dread Central.

Deadline are reporting that Natalie Dormer (Captain America: The First Avenger, Game Of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay) has signed on to star in Screen Gems' Patient Zero from The Last Voyage Of The Demeter director Stefan Ruzowitzky. According to the site the story deals with a "global pandemic that causes the evolution of a new species. An aggressive form of rabies turns the infected into predators, addicted to violence." Dormer will play a survivor with the ability to speak the "new mutant language", and leads a hunt for Patient Zero in the hope for a cure. Sounds like a mix between 28 Days Later and the Crossed comic book. Mike Le, wrote the script, and Vincent Newman is producing.

Meet Vlad the Impaler. Formerly known as Dracula Year Zero, we finally have our first look at what's now known as Dracula Untold, one of a few Dracula/Vlad movies in the works (the others being Eli Roth's Harker and The Last Voyage of the Demeter). Welsh actor Luke Evans stars in this movie as Vlad Tepes (seen above), better known in history as Vlad the Impaler, in the very dark story of how he becomes Dracula. I talked with Luke about this movie in my interview with him last year, as he had just finished filming, now we finally get a first look in the form of a poster + photo. Solid design, I like the armor, curious to see more. The international poster for Gary Shore's Dracula Untold via TotalFilm, as well as the first look photo: And here's the official Us poster for Gary Shore's Dracula Untold,...

Dracula: Year Zero has been around for years.  I mean, years.  I've been writing about it here at Shock since 2008.  And, much like another Dracula-themed project that never dies - The Last Voyage of the Demeter - this one has seen talent come and go.  But it appears Dracula: Year Zero is finally moving forward.

The Hollywood Reporter says Universal "quietly" gave the green light to producer Michael De Luca and he has locked a director and star.

Read more...

The gray rolling seas thundered through the forest of pilings under the piers, sometimes cresting enough to send a geyser of wind-whipped froth up onto the decking. Other places, it poured through the gaps the wind and tide had eaten through the dunes and poured into the beach town streets. It pulled boats large and small from their moorings in the lagoon marinas and piled them like a child’s toys up on the land. Some in apartment buildings would tell of the cars in the ground level garage floating against each other bathtub playthings. But there was nothing childlike in the way it took entire houses, made seaside villages look like an extension of the ocean and not the land.

For the day and a half I watched Hurricane Sandy pound my home state of New Jersey – which was all the time I had before I lost my cable...

30 Days of Night and Hard Candy director David Slade has been hired by Disney to direct a feature film adaptation of Matched. The young-adult novel was written by Ally Condie, and the story revolves around a girl in a dystopian future where choice is taken away, and a young woman falls in love with a guy she has not been matched with.

Slade's last feature film project was The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and I imagine he did the best job he could with the material he had to work with. For the most part I like Slade's work, and since Twilight he's been attached to several other film project such as Daredevil, Coward, and The Last Voyage of the Demeter. For one reason or another these projects have fallen through. He went on to direct the TV pilot for Hannibal. I've always thought of the director as more of a hardcore kind of guy,...

Exclusive: Feature writer-director Neil Marshall (The Descent) is set to direct the pilot episode of Starz’s upcoming pirate drama series Black Sails, executive produced by Michael Bay. The eight-episode series, created by Jon Steinberg and Robert Levine, is set 20 years before the events in Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island and chronicles the adventures of fabled buccaneer Captain Flint and his men. The series is currently in pre-production in Cape Town, South Africa, with Starz brass eying it for a launch in early 2014, possibly inheriting the Spartacus slot. Marshall recently made his TV debut directing the Blackwater episode of HBO’s fantasy series Game Of Thrones, which received a lot of praise for its depiction of the Battle of the Blackwater, described as one of the best battle sequences ever done on television. Marshall, repped by ICM Partners and Principato-Young, is currently developing the features Hellfest for Gale Anne Hurd...

Scanners Alien (1979) in just one frame. On Ridley Scott's compositional skill.

Fug Girls well played, Elizabeth Banks

My New Plaid Pants Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter in 150 words or less

The Wrap Metropolis is the world's most valuable film poster. How much will it fetch at auction?

Indie Wire a ten wide Emmy nomination wishlist from Kathryn Hahn in Parks and Recreation (great choice) to Laura Dern in Enlightened "the most burrowing television performance since Tony Soprano"

Guardian smart piece, neither fully pro nor con on Brave and the evolution of the action princess...

the studio whose most iconic heroes include a toy cowboy, a rat, a fish, a boy scout, and a lonely trash compactor (all male-identified, of course), couldn't figure out how to tell a story about a human girl without making her a princess. That's the problem in a nutshell: if the sparkling minds at Pixar can't...

Ryan Reynolds is to star in the new Highlander reboot, it has emerged.

In May, it was revealed that the actor had entered into talks and now The Tracking Board says he has officially been cast in the role after a month of negotiations.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is directing the remake of the cult classic. The 1986 original starred Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod, a Scottish swordsman belonging to a mysterious race of immortals.

After centuries of duelling to survive against other immortals - hence the film's tagline of 'there can be only one' - MacLeod must confront the last of his kind, who lusts for the fabled Prize.

Viggo Mortensen has reportedly been offered the lead in director Neil Marshall's Dracula flick The Last Voyage Of The Demeter, about the ship that brought the Count's coffin to England.

Bloody-Disgusting says Viggo will play the lead role of Henry Clemens,...

You may be more familiar with the work of the English director Neil Marshall than you think. He made a splash with the well-received "The Descent" in 2005, and he recently directed the much-talked about "Blackwater" episode of "Game of Thrones."

So you should definitely be paying attention to his next project, "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," which may or may not have found its lead.

A report from Bloody Disgusting claims that an offer went out to Viggo Mortensen to star in the film, which takes an expanded look at one portion of Bram Stoker's original "Dracula" novel.

Learn more after the jump!

If Mortensen has actually been offered the role and he accepts, he will play Henry Clemens, a crew member of the Russian ship that transports Count Dracula from his home in Transylvania to London. It's an iconic part of Stoker's novel, and one that does not end well.

Viggo Mortensen should be a rock star. Like, a bigger rock star than he already is. The dude makes fascinating choices with his career. Yes, he lands in super-mega-franchises like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. But he also collaborates with David Cronenberg, tries offbeat Westerns in Appaloosa and Hidalgo, and, if this news can be confirmed, might play a vampire-smuggler in a long-gestating project. That would be Millenium Films. The Last Voyage of the Demeter, a movie centered on a ship that transports Dracula from Transylvania to England. Neil Marshall has been set to direct the feature for some time now, working off a Bragi F. Schut screenplay adapted from the novels of Bram Stoker. Bloody Disgusting now says that Mortensen is being pursued for the role of Henry Clemens, while Ben Kingsley still is being considered for the role of the ship.s captain. There were even rumors...

After years on the shores of development, The Last Voyage Of The Demeter is finally getting ready to set sail with Neil Marshall at the helm. And it looks as if its most prominent passenger might be Viggo Mortensen.Bloody Disgusting's sources suggest that Viggo has been offered a character called Henry Clemens. Quite what that role is remains to be seen. Previous casting stories, from the days when Stefan Ruzowitzky was supposed to be directing, placed Ben Kingsley as the Demeter's captain, and Bd's mole says that he remains aboard. If that's the case, Viggo won't be on deck at the wheel. Noomi Rapace was also once mooted as a stowaway, but there's no word of her this morning, so she may have jumped ship.Henry Clemens was the name of Mark Twain's brother, who was killed in a riverboat explosion in 1858... Yeah, Ok, we're reaching. We've got nothin'.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter has been kicking around in development for nearly 10 years and has gone through many permutations since it was announced in 2004. Now, famed British horror filmmaker Neil Marshall is at the helm and the film appears to be gaining some traction.

Bloody Disgusting is reporting that Viggo Mortensen is being approached to play the lead role of Henry Clemens in the film, which is a remake of sorts of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The film will focus on the section in the middle of the novel when Dracula travels across the sea to England on the Russian vessel: the Demeter, where he awakes and kills the entire crew.

In previous versions of the Dracula story on screen, this voyage is seen only very briefly. In Francis Ford Coppola‘s Dracula for example it is retained to a couple of shots. With The Last Voyage of the Demeter,...

After years of inter-changing stars, directors, and simple hopes of ever seeing this thing come together, The Last Voyage of the Demeter is about to take off. All seemed right back on track when Neil Marshall was handed directing reigns last month — for this project, the fact that he’s still attached is a good-enough sign — and the newest onscreen developments are coming in from BloodyDisgusting.

The latest and, I’d say, most interesting update concerns Viggo Mortensen, who Millennium Films are (reportedly) now seeking to play a character named Henry Clemens. (Don’t ask for the specifics, buddy.) It’s not unlikely this offer gets turned down and is, accordingly, passed to another talent — when it comes to choosing roles, this actor’s a picky sort of fellow — although I’d kind of love to see this come together. The confirmation will just have to wait, I guess.

And even if Mortensen does,...

To say that we're excited to see Neil Marshall's take on the Dracula tale The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a bit of an understatement. The man knows how to do period pieces like no other, and he's not shy about the red stuff either.

Bloody Disgusting has chimed in with a bit of possible casting news, and according to the site, although it has yet to be confirmed, Ben Kingsley is still attached to play the film’s Captain. In addition, Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence, The Road, The Lord of the Rings) has been offered the lead role of “Henry Clemens.” There’s no real word on Noomi Rapace, coming off Prometheus, other than she “may” still be starring as “Anna Billington.”

The script, written by Season of the Witch's Bragi Schut over a decade ago, places the ship's voyage center stage in a...

Now, this is some casting news we can get behind. Last month, we reported that The Last Voyage of the Demeter was being taken over by director Neil Marshall. A new report reveals that an offer has been made to Viggo Mortensen to play the lead.

The story revolves around the Demeter, the ship that carries Dracula from Transylvania to England in the original novel. During the voyage, Dracula slowly kills the crew members one by one. The original script was written by Bragi Schut (Season of the Witch) and David Slade was previously set to direct the project last year with Ben Kingsley and Noomi Rapace.

The casting news has not been officially confirmed, so for now we’ll just consider this a likely rumor. Bloody Disgusting reports that Ben Kingsley is still attached to play the film’s Captain, while Viggo Mortensen will play the lead role of Henry Clemens.

The last thing we heard about this new Dracula movie, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, is that Neil Marshall (The Decent, Centerion) was attached to direct it. Today we've learned that Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen has been offered the lead role of Henry Clemens in the film. The news comes from Bloody-Disgusting who also reports that Ben Kingsley is still attached to play the ship’s Captain. Noomi Rapace was also attached to the film at one point but there's no word if she's still attached. The story is described as being reminiscent of Ridley Scott's Alien.

The script for the movie was written by Bragi Schut over a decade ago. The most recent draft was written by Lowell Cauffiel, and it tells the story of the Demeter, the name of the ship that transported Dracula from Transylvania to London in Bram Stoker's classic story.

Viggo Mortensen has been offered the lead role of Henry Clemens in the Millennium Films project ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter,’ Bloody-Disgusting is reporting. The news of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ actor’s potential casting comes after it was previously reported that Ben Kingsley was attached to play the Captain in the film. ‘Prometheus’ star Noomi Rapace is also believed to have a role in the movie, as Anna Billington. The casting of Mortensen, Kingsley and Rapace, who rose to fame for her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish/Danish film adaptations of the Millennium series, will majorly be based on Millennium Films’ scheduling. ‘The Last Voyage of the [ Read More ]...

last we heard, Dog Soldiers director Neil Marshall was attached to helm The last Voyage Of The Demeter - the story of the doomed the ship that carried Dracula’s coffin from Transylvania to England - for Millennium Films. Sir Ben Kingsley and Noomi Rapace were also said to be on board as the ship's captain and a stowaway named Anna Billington, but nothing was ever officially confirmed. Now Bloody Disgusting report that both actors "may" still be attached, and that Viggo Mortenson has been offered the lead role of Henry Clemens. The site also reporst that the latest script draft by Lowell Cauffiel will "place the voyage center stage in a tale that is reminiscent of the first movie in the Alien franchise, in which a crew is slaughtered one-by-one by a mysterious passenger." If that cast comes together, I would definitely be very interested to see this one.

To Mark the recent release of Strippers Vs Werewolves on DVD and Blu-ray comes a new battle between both sides of the monstrous mash-up.

Kaleidoscope's British comedy-horror flick sees sleazy werewolf Mickey (Martin Kemp) killed in a strip club. The girls who work there have until the next full moon before his bloodthirsty brethren seek murderous retribution. Among the cast is glamour model and former Celebrity Big Brother contestant Lucy Pinder (above).

So who leads the pack in the film world as a whole? An infographic from the film's publicity people (see below) ranks the contenders.

Vying for the title of Sexiest Stripper are Heather Graham in The Hangover, Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, Demi Moore in Striptease, Jessica Alba in Sin City and Salma Hayek in From Dusk Till Dawn.

The contenders for Scariest Werewolf were: Taylor Lautner's character Jacob in the Twilight films; Michael J. Fox's Scott...

The Descent filmmaker Neil Marshall will be directing Season of the Witch scribe Bragi Schut's The Last Voyage of the Demeter — a project that THR relates Schut wrote a decade ago and has been long-gestating. Directors like Robert Schwentke, Marcus Nispel, and Twilight: Eclipse's David Slade have been attached to the film over the years — with Ben Kingsley and Noomie Rapace signed on to star last year, even — but The Demeter never set sail. We hope Marshall is in it for the long haul, as his ability to craft a dark sense of claustrophobic, atmospheric dread in his 2005 creepy cave movie would translate perfectly for the Dracula tale. The Demeter, of course, is the ship that transports Bram Stoker's Dracula from Transylvania to...

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While both trying to cash in on a persistent craze and attempting to wipe the glitter off (it’s the herpes of the craft world for a reason), The Descent director Neil Marshall is the latest director ready to embark on The Last Voyage of the Demeter. The cruise will feature a vampire and a captive buffet aboard the high seas. According to a lot of nautical puns in The Hollywood Reporter, Millennium Films is taking the long-gestating script from Bragi Schut (Season of the Witch). It was written a decade ago, which means Schut has worked a long time to earn a single writing credit on a mediocre movie, but now his vision of extrapolating a minor plot point in Bram Stoker‘s classic novel will potentially see the light of day. For whatever reason, the project has attracted several directors (Robert Schwentke, Marcus Nispel, David Slade) and even a set of stars (Ben Kingsley, Noomi Rapace...

The Dracula story has been told many times and in many forms over the years and now Hollywood is ready to take another stab at the material with The Last Voyage of the Demeter. This latest retelling will take a more specific focus on Bram Stoker's tale as the film portrays Dracula's journey from Transylvania to London on board the ship Demeter, where the crew is systematically picked off by the mysterious passenger. The project has undergone a lengthy and troubled history, having gone through several directors such as Robert Schwentke and Marcus Nispel, as well as David Slade who had Ben Kingsley and Noomi Rapace attached before the deal fell through. Now, none other than Neil Marshall has signed on to direct, marking a return to the horror genre where he first made his name. After the initial success Marshall made with horror efforts Dog Soldiers and The Descent,...

It seems like Millennium Films has been trying to get Bragi Schut’s decades-old script “The Last Voyage of the Demeter”, yet another “re-imagining” of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” tale, made for, well, a decade or two. Horror reboot mastermind Marcus Nispel was originally attached to direct the project, but that was way back in 2009. He eventually left. By 2010, suddenly hot “Dragon” girl Noomi Rapace and Ben Kingsley were attached to star, but that was back in 2010, and who knows if they’re still attached. Then as early as early 2011, “30 Days of Night’s” David Slade tried his hand on the project. He, too, has since left. The latest name attached to the long-sailing (get it?) Dracula film is the master of splatter himself, Neil Marshall (“The Descent”, “Doomsday”). Of course, whether Marshall’s attachment actually results in the film happening is anybody’s guest. Originally written by Schut (“Season of the Witch...

Neil Marshall Will Take A Stab At The Last Voyage Of The Demeter

Neil Marshall isn't a household name, not even close, but if you've seen any of his films then it should be very clear as to why he's a director to watch out for. The Descent and Centurion are two of my favorite Marshall films but in each of his credits he's shown promise and potential, which is why I'm thrilled to hear that he'll be taking a stab at The Last Voyage Of The Demeter.

Thanks for reading We Got This Covered...

About a year ago, it was announced that David Slade (30 Days of Night) was negotiating to direct "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," with Jude Law in talks to play the lead role, while Ben Kingsley and Noomi Rapace (Prometheus) were attached to play supporting characters. Now comes word that the project is moving forward, but with Neil Marshall (The Descent) now in talks to direct, making him just the latest helmer attached to the project, which had Robert Schwentke (Red), Marcus Nispel (Friday the 13th) and Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters) attached at different points. Demeter was the name of the ship that transported Dracula from Transylvania to London in Bram Stoker's classic tale. In that novel, it washes up on the shores of England, tattered and broken, with one raving mad survivor. The movie will show the crew of the ship being slaughtered one-by-one by a mysterious passengers,...

In the age of countless remakes, reimaginings, sequels, prequels and spinoffs it should come as no surprise that there is yet another take on Bram Stoker's "Dracula" coming to theatres. No, not Dracula 3D, another one. The newly rejuvenated The Last Voyage of the Demeter is not a straight adaptation of the classic tome but tells the story of the famous vampire's journey to England aboard the titular ship. On the way, the crew is slaughtered one-by-one before the vessel washed on shore with one traumatized, survivor. The script, written by Bragi Schut, has been in and out of development for the last decade with directors like Robert Schwentke and Marcus Nispel interested at different stages. Then the project fell into the hands of David Slade who was able to recruit Noomi Rapace and Ben Kingsley before his vision for the ill-fated voyage also fell apart. However. Millennium Films...

The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a Dracula script that has been in various stages of development for years. In early 2011, David Slade was ready to direct, with Ben Kingsley and Noomi Rapace starring. However, that project fell through and now we’re hearing that Neil Marshall is going to be directing the film.

For those unaware, the Demeter is the ship that carries Dracula from Transylvania to England in the original novel. During the voyage, Dracula slowly kills the crew members one-by-one. The original script was written by Bragi Schut (Season of the Witch).

Unfortunately, no additional details were revealed along with today’s announcement. We know that Marshall is attached to Hellfest and previously Burst 3D. It’s unknown which project will go into production first, but we’ll let readers know as soon as anything becomes official.

Seeing as his once-gestating Hellfest has been silent for nearly four months, THR informs us that Neil Marshall (The Descent, Centurion) is attached to go gothic with The Last Voyage of the Demeter. The Stoker enthusiasts among us will perk their ears at the lattermost word of that title, and they’d be well-advised to — the Bragi Schut-penned screenplay adapts a chapter from Dracula and turns it into an Alien-like horror story of survival. Or, the repeatedly failed attempt to.

Stoker‘s original text paints the Demeter as a ship transporting Dracula’s body from Transylvania to London, one which, by the time it crashes onto an English shore, only has a single body aboard. The novel’s epistolary structure gives us a recount of what occurred — probably to strong effect, if the book’s reputation means anything — but this project will fill in the blanks with gory detail.

It's been over a year since last there was anything to report on the Dracula tale The Last Voyage of the Demeter, but holy cow, has some really cool news sailed on in. News that has us grinning from ear-to-ear!

According to THR, Neil Marshall, the noted horror filmmaker behind The Descent, is attached to direct the long-gestating Demeter, which is being set up at Millennium Films. The project over the years has attracted such directors as Robert Schwentke and Marcus Nispel. The flick almost left port last year with Twilight: Eclipse helmer David Slade and a cast that included Ben Kingsley and Noomi Rapace, but the tide turned, forcing the sails to fold.

The script, written by Season of the Witch's Bragi Schut over a decade ago, places the ship's voyage center stage in a story that (much like the original Alien) will illustrate for viewers what happens...

The Last Voyage of the Demeter has had a rough run in development.  The project first garnered our attention when it was going to be a directing vehicle for Patrick Tatopoulos before he went on to do Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

Various other directors have been attached to helm, now The Hollywood Reporter says Neil Marshall of The Descent is going to tackle Bragi Schut's script.

From one of our early script reviews (when it looked like the film was dead in the water): Demeter focuses on the events that occurred on the ill-fated ship that transported Dracula to England. Alec Radu, the main character, is a Romanian hard laborer whose son is stolen away by a mysterious figure. He follows his son's kidnapper to the seaport of Varna where the Demeter is being loaded with unusual cargo in preparation for its departure. Convinced his son is on board the ship,...

The Last Voyage of the Demeter might finally set sail. Neil Marshall, the noted horror filmmaker behind The Descent, is attached to direct the long-gestating Demeter, which is being set up at Millennium Films. Photos: Iconic Horror Movies Demeter was the name of the ship that transported Dracula from Transylvania to London in Bram Stoker's classic tale. In that 1897 novel, the ship washes up on the shores of England, tattered and broken, with one raving-mad survivor. Written a decade ago by Bragi Schut (Season of the Witch), the script tells the tale of that journey, in which

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Neil Marshall is latest name to become attached to The Last Voyage of the Demeter , says a story at The Hollywood Reporter . Last year , David Slade was said to be planning to direct and, before that, both Stefan Ruzowitzky and Marcus Nispel were once in talks. Set during Bram Stoker's original "Dracula," the script focuses on the ship that transports the vampire from Transylvania. In the original text, the vessel arrives in England with the entire crew missing, save the captain, whose body is found tied to the helm. In the script, screenwriter Bragi Schut is said to take an approach akin to Ridley Scott's original Alien , telling the story from the point of view of the Russian crew and treating the vampire as Scott did the sci-fi terror. Though he most recently...

Aficionados of Bram Stoker's Dracula will be in for a double treat. Discounting a similarly titled Death Ship (1980), which bears no relation to the recent graphic novel of the same name, at least this tale may be the inspiration for a coming film, Last Voyage of the Demeter. News of this film broke early 2011 and as of late, David Slate (30 Days of Night) is to direct, and Bragi F. Schut (Season of the Witch) to write the screenplay. Until this film goes into production, UK residents have the treat of BBC Radio 4's version to tide them over. They provided a chilling version that was last broadcasted in '09, which is now hard to come by.

At least the graphic novel compilation of "Death Ship: The Last Voyage of the Demeter," is more current. Idw Publishing released this title Sept 28 and this tale explores the last few days of the Russian schooner,...

Last week I ran a lengthy first part of my Steven Soderbergh interview, primarily about the movie Contagion. Soon aftewards, the film opened number one at the box office by a wide margin and clearly there is a direct line between the two. Steve, next time you are in town the cherry lime rickeys are on you.

Our conversation went far beyond the usual shilling for new product, so now that the news cycle promoting Contagion has run its course, I’d love to share the rest of our discussion on a multitude of topics.

For a guy whose won every award imaginable and has the acclaim of both mass audiences and “the elite,” I can’t overstate just how down-to-earth and agreeable Mr. Soderbergh is. What doesn’t come across in print is his directness – there’s a surprising lack of b.s. in his tone, and if he...

It’s only been a week since FilmShaft reported on the signing of one David Slade to 20th Century Fox’s Daredevil sequel, and already the “30 Days of Night” and “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” director has come out to say one or two words about the appointment, and the project itself.

Variety’s original report was quite clear in stating that Slade’s Daredevil movie would be a direct sequel, or continuation of the 2003 big screen outing starring Ben Affleck, but speaking on his official Twitter page, Slade was quick to contradict them. Kind of.

In a string of tweets Slade confirmed that he had signed onto the project, but was a bit sketchier when it came to just what the project was looking to achieve:

Forgot to look at the internet for a few weeks and its a litany of false (and not so far off) rumours. So without breaking confidentiality,...

David Slade took to his twitter account this past Saturday to both confirm some internet rumors and clear up others that have been going around for awhile. It looks like David will indeed be working on Rem, The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Daredevil while Deadpool and Wolverine were just internet rumors. Check out [...]

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It was recently reported that "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" and "30 Days of Night" director David Slade would be dipping his feet into the comic book adapted film realm with a reboot of "Daredevil." It's said to be based more along the lines of the "Born Again" story arc where Kingpin finds out the true identity of Daredevil and completely destroys Matt Murdock's life piece by piece.Today the director kindly gave us a heads up on not only "Daredevil" but his possible involvement with "Deadpool," "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" and "The Wolverine." So without breaking confidentiality, yes Daredevil, we have a great outline for a very strong character driven take on Mr Matt Murdock. It will bare no relation to the previous Daredevil movie in any way. We are at early planning stages and have not yet discussed any cast. In regards to "Deadpool": Love Deadpool, was...

Now that The Twilight Saga is well behind him and he's looking ahead to the future, we thought for sure that director David Slade's next project would be the much talked about The Last Voyage of the Demeter. But then that blind pest Daredevil came into the picture, and we've all been left wondering: Will the Dracula tale ever set sail?

According to David Slade on Twitter: "Noomi Rapace and Ben Kingsley want to do it, so do I." Well ... that's better than saying the ship has sailed without him, no? Stay tuned for more.

The script, written by Season of the Witch's Bragi Schut over a decade ago, places the ship's voyage center stage in a story that (much like the original Alien) will illustrate for viewers what happens when a not-so-human passenger slaughters its transporters one-by-one.

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Putting his work on Twilight behind him, David Slade is now focusing on the future...and he has a lot of options in front of him. To take a bit of rumor control into his own hands, he addressed the various projects he's close to. Unfortunately, he doesn't have much to say about a Dracula film he was expected to do: " The Last Voyage of the Demeter , Noomi Rapace and Ben Kingsley want to do it, so do I," he told his Twitter disciples. The film is set up at Phoenix Pictures and is based on a chapter in Bram Stoker's "Dracula" describing the arrival of the vampire count in England on a cargo ship that has crashed into the rocks at Whitby with no crew and the dead captain lashed to the steering wheel. Slade made news last week when it was announced he...

Mark Steven Johnson’s 2003 adaptation of Daredevil was not the worst comicbook film to come out in recent years (that dubious honour goes to Ghost Rider), I went to see it with an ex-girlfriend of mind and hands down it was definitely the best thing about that date! The action, while piecemeal and choppy, was watchable, the soundtrack was memorable and god forgive me, Colin Farrell’s Bullseye was quite comical.

That said, the film didn’t really hit it off with it’s prospective audience, nor with the film-reviewing community at large, and as if that wasn’t enough, Elektra, the spinoff starring Jennifer Garner, hit a much louder bum note that Daredevil ever could.

So surely the property is ripe for another, better installment? 20th Century Fox seem to think so as they’ve hired “30 Days of Night” and “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” director, David Slade to head up the project.

Where do you go after you've gone from Hard Candy to 30 Days of Night to Twilight: Eclipse? Well, if the whole point is to watch films directed by David Slade, the answer would be the next Daredevil.

Now, by "next" Daredevil, we actually mean the first of a series; it has been decided that we can shovel the 2003 Ben Affleck film - as well as the spin-off film Elektra - right under the metaphorical carpet and move on as if they never, ever happened. David Slade's new venture will be a complete reboot, and will ignore the universe created in the previous films.

Slade is currently working on horror project The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which revolves around the doomed ship which carried Dracula to England. Shooting for Daredevil will presumably start soon after Slade completes his current project.

This film is in a very early stage, and...

Director David Slade is selected by 20th Century Fox and Chemin Entertainment to helm Daredevil reboot.

Variety reports that the project will not contain material from the 2003 Mark Steven Johnson-directed Daredevil that starred Ben Affleck, nor the spinoff Elektra sequel. The film is being labeled as “a continuation,” so it appears that this will be a correct reboot.

Daredevil is about a character Matt Murdock who was blinded by radioactive substance. He uses his heightened senses to fight crime in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. The character was first created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett.

Fox needed to produce a film in order to keep the Daredevil rights. If Fox failed to do it, Marvel Studios, which is now owned by Disney, will be able to purchase the rights back. Besides, 20th Century Fox is also planning a new installment for Fantastic Four.

Slade...

By and large, fans were unimpressed with Mark Steven Johnson's 2003 adaptation of the Marvel Comics series "Daredevil" for 20th Century Fox. While it was a masterpiece compared to the "Elektra" spin-off that followed, it still fell short of expectations.

Fox has held onto the rights since then by keeping a follow-up in development, and now momentum is building for another adventure with the blind lawyer/vigilante superhero, to be helmed by "30 Days of Night" director David Slade.

Slade will work on what sources tell Variety is "a continuation of the 'Daredevil' saga," picking up after the events of the 2003 film, which starred Ben Affleck. The sequel-not-reboot status is further confirmed by Deadline, though no further information than that is revealed. A writer has not been hired, but the person will reportedly "work closely" with Slade on developing the story.

Slade got plenty of attention last year for...