Ever since Count Dracula was introduced in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, Dracula, the character has appeared in movies portrayed by many different actors over the years, such as Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee. Even in 2023, we have had a loose adaptation of a chapter from Stoker’s classic, in the form of André Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Sure, the movie might not have done too well critically – we seem to be one of the exceptions – but it seems to be doing quite well with fans. So, if you liked The Last Voyage of the Demeter, you should check out Netflix’s Dracula, a limited streaming series featuring The Count.
How Is The Last Voyage of the Demeter Like Netflix’s Dracula?
If you liked The Last Voyage of the Demeter, both it and Netflix’s Dracula are adapted from Bram Stoker’s novel, so they are somewhat similar. The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a movie, whereas Netflix’s version is a miniseries that was created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, the minds behind the BBC Sherlock series. The movie follows Dracula’s voyage on the Demeter, the ship Dracula travels in to get to England. The second episode of the series follows this trip, and this is where the two stories converge, each offering scintillating takes on the horrors visited upon the ship’s crew by the vampire. The first and third episodes follow Dracula in Transylvania and England respectively.
The two are also period pieces, taking place in the late 19th century, even if not all of Dracula is set in that time. Both adaptations have different takes on the character, with the 2020 series presenting the character as an enigmatic dark tall, and handsome man like Christopher Lee’s version, while the movie presents him as a creature, a monster like Nosferatu. One version isn’t exactly better than the other – they’re just different. Claes Bang, who plays him in the show, works because he is more seductive in the series. Javier Botet, who plays the creature in the movie, nails the physicality of a monster who hunts his prey.
They are also weirdly inaccurate compared to the source material but in totally different ways. The Dracula series really veers off course by the third episode. With that being said, it’s totally worth a watch if you liked The Last Voyage of the Demeter. In fact, the reverse applies as well. If you liked Dracula in 2020, there’s a good chance that you’ll like the movie. You can catch it in theaters now, and you can stream Dracula on Netflix.
