The Last Voyage of the Demeter comes to Blu-ray and DVD with deleted scenes and alternate opening

 Movie-goers rejected Dracula not just once but twice this uear. Universal released two well-reviewed Dracula projects – the horror comedy Renfield and the more serious The Last Voyage of the Demeter – and both of them tanked at the box office. Renfield couldn’t even crack the $27 million mark at the global box office, and Demeter barely made it over the $20 million mark. Trying to recoup some of their losses, Universal gave The Last Voyage of the Demeter a VOD release just two and a half weeks after it reached theatres. Now it has been announced that the film will be receiving a digital, Blu-ray, and DVD release on October 17th – and it’s coming to home video with deleted scenes and an alternate opening.

Escaping development hell twenty years after the script was first written (Bragi F. Schut and Zak Olkewicz receive writing credits on the finished film), The Last Voyage of the Demeter is based on a single chapter, the Captain’s Log, from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. The film tells the story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo – fifty unmarked wooden crates – from Carpathia to London. Strange events befall the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a merciless presence onboard the ship. When the Demeter finally arrives off the shores of England, it is a charred, derelict wreck. There is no trace of the crew. 

Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton) as Clemens, a doctor who joins the Demeter crew; Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale) as an unwitting stowaway; Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) as the ship’s captain; and David Dastmalchian (the Ant-Man franchise) as the Demeter’s first mate. Also in the cast are Jon Jon Briones (American Horror Story), Stefan Kapicic (Deadpool films), and Nikolai Nikolaeff (Stranger Things), with Javier Botet (Mama) as Dracula. You can watch our interviews with Hawkins and Botet HERE.

Directed by André Øvredal (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark), The Last Voyage of the Demeter came our way from DreamWorks Pictures. The project was produced by Brad Fischer and Mike Medavoy and Arnold Messer for Phoenix Pictures. Matthew Hirsch serves as executive producer. 

There’s over 30 minutes of never-before-seen bonus content included with the digital, Blu-ray, and DVD releases. Here’s the list:

ALTERNATE OPENING – Commentary available with Director André Øvredal and Producer Bradley J. Fischer

DELETED SCENES – Commentary available with Director André Øvredal and Producer Bradley J. Fischer: Clemens Picking up a Stone in Varna – Bosphorus and Constantinople – Clemens Following Huck’s Blood Trail – Clemens and Anna Talk on Deck – Crew Discuss Where the Beast Is Hiding – Finding the Corpses in the Crate – Wojchek Finds the Captain – Clemens Visits His Father’s Grave

FROM THE PITS OF HELL: DRACULA REIMAGINED – Learn how the creative team behind THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER conjured a new nightmare.

EVIL IS ABOARD: THE MAKING OF THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER – Set sail for an exclusive journey inside the making of the movie with the filmmakers and cast.

DRACULA & THE DIGITAL AGE – Visual effects supervisor Brad Parker leads a detailed look at the imaginative work that adds fresh layers of fear to Dracula, creates realistic water, and enhances scenery with bleeding-edge VFX.

FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR ANDRÉ ØVREDAL AND PRODUCER BRADLEY J. FISCHER

Have you seen The Last Voyage of the Demeter? Will you be buying the film on digital, Blu-ray, and/or DVD? Let us know by leaving a comment below.