The Last Voyage of the Demeter was supposed to open in the UK on Friday 11 August, and it seems weirdly appropriate that something went wrong with the trans-Atlantic crossing. In the original novel, the Demeter is the ship that delivers Dracula to the UK and it’s a voyage that would make Ellen Ripley nod in sympathy and reach for her flamethrower. Advanced word on the film is good, with Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro both fans. So where is it? All the studio has said is it has been ‘delayed indefinitely’. Alasdair Stuart has some theories as to why.

Chaos Reigns

Nothing makes sense right now. The strikes (which we wholeheartedly support) were preceded by movies and shows alike being pulled (and apparently destroyed in Batgirl’s case) for tax breaks, shows being un-renewed, entire casts being demoted and countless other horrific choices. Demeter could easily have fallen victim to some of those and could wash ashore on a streaming service three days from now with basically no press. Just ask Heart of Stone, a film Netflix seem, a few bus posters aside, to have basically forgotten they released last week.

Not Even Dracula Can Beat Capitalism

Before we get into this, something that needs to be said out loud: Box Office take is a barometer of quality the same way chips can forecast the weather. It isn’t. Across every stripe of media there’s stuff I loved that tanked and stuff I didn’t get on with that was a massive success and you’re the same. Art’s inherent worth is not tied to its commercial value. Cool? Cool.

With that said, releasing a horror movie in August is a risky move that does not seem to have paid off. Demeter, for all the good word, has done badly at the US Box Office. Meanwhile over here the Haunted Mansion movie has similarly struggled. It’s entirely possible that a call was made to pull the movie at the last minute due to Box Office forecasting. Forecasting that in this instance looks to be accurate.

Season of the Witch

As Tim Curry once so eloquently purred, anything can happen on Halloween. Horror movies usually do well all year round but they always do well at Halloween. With the spooky season around just a couple more corners, it would make a lot of sense for Demeter to have been pulled to be rereleased then. We certainly hope this is the case.

Regardless, right now we’re in a depressingly similar situation to The Green Knight a couple of years ago. The movie’s definitely real, and definitely out in some places just not here… yet. That’s frustrating but there is, as we see, some hope. Plus if you wanted to experience Dracula a different way while you’re waiting, we’ve got a couple of suggestions for you.

Daily Dracula

Given the use of letters to tell the story this is such a lovely idea. Read the letters on the day they take place and sign up to be sent a small dose of vampirism to your inbox, as a treat.

Re: Dracula 

Or why not listen to it as a podcast? Same idea, with episodes releasing on the day events take place but with a full audio drama cast. The amazing Tal Minear, Stephen Indrisano, Hannah Wright, Ella Watts and Pacific Obadiah produce and Dracula is played by the wonderful Karim Kronfli who is having an absolute blast. I had the honour of playing the Captain of the Demeter and while his voyage didn’t end well, it was massive fun to do. Here’s hoping I, and we, get to see the story from the outside and on the big screen soon.