This is the hilarious marketing copy:
“Based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula…”
I guess Universal hasn’t completely given up on their classic monster movie characters.
I mean, if you’re going to make a Dracula side story chapter, this chapter is the one that makes the most sense to go with (or, I suppose, Dracula’s Guest, but that’s much thinner and more anticlimactic). Title seems like pretty crap marketing, though.
Vampire on a ship, I am sold. :)
I think it made for the best episode of the BBC Dracula mini-series. Although the third episode was utter dreck so it was only really competing with the first one, which had moments. I wonder if this can hold up to that one and manage to keep an actual movie-length run time.
I agree. (Although, objectively speaking, the whole of that series was crap. Just ridiculously over-the-top in every way; but it was still a fun watch up until that third episode).
Watching this trailer I got deja vu; I wonder if the director watched that other series or if they’re both being faithful to the novel. Read the novel ages ago and I don’t remember the voyage chapter being detailed or long enough for the run times of a movie/1.5 hour episode.
“Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking snakes vampires on this motherfucking plane boat!”
I think once I figured out that it wasn’t sticking closely at all to the book I enjoyed it a lot more. The first episode really threw me in that regard. Going back I really enjoyed the Demeter episode and quite like the first episode. The third remains totally awful.
And yes, if memory serves, the Demeter stuff in the book largely takes place off screen. There is the captain’s diary but I suppose it makes sense to use it as a jumping off point.
In case it wasn’t obvious, the director is going for an Alien at Sea vibe.