Some ideas are too catchy to let go off. In the nineties, Bragi Schut Jr. saw a model of the Detemer – the ship that ferries the Count from Transylvania to England – made for “Bram Stoker's Dracula.” Inspired, he wrote a feature length expansion of the seventh chapter of Stoker's novel. In 2003, the script was acquired and Robert Schwentke was hired to direct. This began a long stint in development Hell for “The Last Voyage of the Demeter.” Schwentke left to direct “Flightplan,” Marcus Nispel filled his place, and was subsequently replaced by “Anatomy's” Stefan Ruzowitzky. Noomi Rapace and Ben Kingsley would become attached before directorial duties passed to David Slade. The project lost Rapace, gained Jude Law, Slade was traded out for Neil Marshall, who also later dropped out. Two decades passed before Schut's vision, rewritten by a host of other writers, finally made it front of cameras, with André Øvredal in the director's chair. “The Demeter” ultimately found port at Universal Studios, Dracula's most iconic cinematic home.
In the summer of 1897, merchant ship the Demeter picks up cargo on behalf of a mysterious customer in Bulgaria. Before heading out for London, the crate spooks a local and a doctor named Clemens is hired to replace him. The crew, led by Captain Elliot, whose nephew Toby is also aboard the vessel, is in high spirits at first. However, Clemens soon discovers a young woman among the crates full of dirt in the hold. From here on, strange misfortunes befall the crew. All the animals aboard are killed. Crew members are attacked after nightfall and one of them awakens as a dazed, violent attacker that bursts into flames in the sunlight. It soon becomes clear that a greatly feared figure known as Dracula is aboard the Demeter.
Anyone already familiar with the story of “Dracula” will have a good idea of where “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” is headed. The film makes no illusions about its end point either, as it begins with a flash-forward of the abandoned ship washing up. The film manages to use this somewhat foregone conclusion to its advantage, however. As the vampire picks off the crew members one by one, a sense of dread begins to creep in. This is especially true, once it becomes clear Dracula isn't going to spare anyone. This grim feeling increases with every new reveal, the dwindling crew feeling even more outmatched by the ever-powerful Dracula. While not extremely gory, “The Demeter's” violence is grim enough – with flesh burning and throats chewed open – to further assist this atmosphere of hopelessness.
While “Alien” is obviously the main point of reference here, “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” couldn't help but remind me of “The Thing” as well. Both films concern men in desolate, isolated location forced to grapple with an otherworldly terror beyond their control. Neither film devotes considerable time to developing each of the men, instead allowing their actions and quirks to speak for themselves. Jon Jon Briones' Joseph, the boat's cook, is a devout Christian. Captain Elliot is very close to his little grandson. Wojchek, David Dastmalchian's first mate, has worked hard to get to the position he's in now and is reluctant to let go of it. Corey Hawkins gets one dramatic speech, about life as a black man in the late 1800s, and Aisling Franciosi's Anna has more backstory than most of the characters. But “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” remains committed to being a lean, mean, horror delivery machine in a decidedly old school fashion. The story and its execution are the attraction here, the filmmakers more than happy to exploit that to its fullest.
Earlier this year, we lost a legend in the world of vintage creature features. Bert I. Gordon, at the ripe age of 100, said good-bye in March. Gordon's films could never exactly be called good. In fact, more often, they are derided as some of the shittiest B-movies to ever creep onto drive-in screens. This is no doubt due to Gordon being the filmmaker most frequently featured on “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” While Gordon dabbled in many exploitation genres over his fruitful years as a filmmaker, it must be some sort of kismet that he'd become best known for movies about B.I.G. critters. I can't help but appreciate the huckstery spirit inherent in his work. Before gracing the world with his “Amazing Colossal Man” duology, Gordon would make a lesser movie about a mutated giant, “The Cyclops.”
Some years back, pilot Bruce Barton disappeared in the Mexican desert. His wife, Susan, has never given up hope he might still be alive though. She manages to hitch a ride with science writer Ross, greedy mining expert Marty, and pilot Lee. Marty and Lee are looking for uranium in the desert, hoping to strike it rich. They put their plane down in an isolated valley when their radiation detecting devices start to go crazy. Yet the uranium-laden location is less than inviting, mostly on account of all the giant, vicious animals that occupy it. Chief among these residents is the deadly, enormous cyclops. Yet might Susan have a connection to this hideously deformed monster?
Like Gordon's most entertaining films – “best” seems like the wrong word – “The Cyclops” does have its lovably goofy moments. The titular giant, played by the same actor who would essay the role of the Amazing Colossal Man, is too ramshackle a threat not be charmed by. His over-sized one-eye, mass of melted face flesh, and grumbling roars all make me chuckle. And like the Colossal Man, the Cyclops ultimately proves to be a mildly sympathetic monster too. Unfortunately, the radioactively mutated man doesn't appear until the last third of the film. Up to that point, the film is largely devoted to its cast wandering around the valley and countryside, having brief encounters with various oversized animals. Once the Cyclops shuffles on-screen, he pins the characters down to a cave. (The same cave that housed Robot Monster and the Batmobile.) Not a lot happens in these scenes either.
“The Cyclops” was not the smoothest production for Gordon and his team. Originally meant to be produced by RKO, funding dropped out at the last minute. The director and his team had to shoot the entire movie in six days, before money ran out. Lon Chaney Jr. was, like he usually was at this point in his career, very drunk all throughout filming. Despite these troubles, Gordon got the movie in the can. It went out on a double feature with “Daughter of Dr. Jekyll,” another Gloria Talbott vehicle, and no doubt made a handsome little profit for its investors. It's neither Mr. B.I.G.'s most gloriously campy or painful movie. It's ultimately a rather aimless little B-movie, neither delightful enough to remember nor tedious enough to annoy. But I'm really shocked it never wound up on “MST3k.” Maybe the newest batch of episodes will get to it. [5/10]
It's not the least bit surprising that Guillermo del Toro would be a fan of instant cult classic “The Empty Man.” David Pryor is exactly the kind of filmmaker I like to see highlighted in these shows. “The Autopsy” is taken from a short story by Michael Shea, adapted by David S. Goyer. It follows Dr. Carl Winters, a coroner dying of stomach cancer. He's given one last job by his old friend, Sheriff Craven. Eight men have died in a mining collapse, following an explosion set off by John Allen. Allen had been reported missing months before and was last seen stealing a strange orb from a police car. As Winters autopsies the corpses, it soon becomes clear that he's stumbled across an extraordinary – and terrifying – discovery.
Much like Pryor's dismissed in-theaters but quickly reevaluated on VOD debut, “The Autopsy” is a far-out mystery that is approached from the most unexpected of angles. We leap right into the scene of the crime, with little understanding of what exactly is going on. During a lengthy flashback, Sheriff Craven presents the baffling evidence. Such as a body found in the woods, surgically cut up as if by a specialized butcher. The purpose of the orb at the story's center is not immediately evident either. Dr. Winters uncovers a lot of weird shit among the dead bodies as he examines them. In that regard, the episode has a lot in common with “The Autopsy of Jane Doe,” which I watched just a few days ago. Both of those set-up off-beat mysteries by presenting increasingly unusual details inside rotting corpses.
“The Autopsy” doesn't just throw these images at us to gross us out. (Though it definitely does accomplish that.) Pryor and his team are clearly grappling with themes of mortality and the fragility of the human form. I don't know if these ideas are really summed up in any meaningful ways. However, the episode does get a lot of mileage out of its stars. F. Murray Abraham is an ideal choice for a weathered investigator at the end of his life, full of wisdom by worn down by the ages. Glynn Turman has a distinctive voice as the malevolent intelligence, who gets to spill the script's most elaborate dialogue. Perhaps like Pryor's feature debut, “The Autopsy” maybe tries to do more than it could ever achieve. Yet it is an interesting ride with a lot of things on its mind, while providing some queasy thrills along the way. [7/10]
Picking up where “Chucky” has left off, Jake, Devon, and Lexy have successfully tied up the latest version of the murderous doll that's appeared at their Catholic boarding school. They decide to use some enhanced interrogation techniques on Chucky but he proves difficult to torture. Instead, the teens decide to try the Ludovico Technique on the plastic psychopath. Ultimately, Chucky isn't just given an aversion to violence, he's seemingly re-programmed into a sweet, innocent, living doll. Jake, Devon, and Lexy are uncertain what to make of this, all while dealing with the personal problems weighing them down. Meanwhile, another Chucky arrives at the school and, naturally, has murder on his little redheaded mind.
Like all serialized genre shows, in its weakest moments, “Chucky” ends up feeling like a soap opera with elaborate murder scenes and F-bombs. Jake is clearly grappling with the guilt he feels over the events in the first episode. Devon, meanwhile, feels his relationship with his boyfriend strain after Father Bryce uncovers it. Zackary Arthur and Bjorgivn Amarson seem like nice kids and all but I'm really struggling to give a shit about this stuff. Lexy's subplot centering her drug addiction is a lot more compelling. Alyvia Alyn Lind does a good job of portraying someone cracking up on the inside but still presenting a perfect exterior. (Even if she gets a tedious subplot of her own, in the form of a school bully blackmailing her.) Bella Higginbotham's extremely eccentric Nadine continues to be a highlight of this season. She has great chemistry with Lind and gets most of the episode's funniest moments.
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