Neil Marshall isn’t a household name, not even close, but if you’ve seen any of his films then it should be very clear as to why he’s a director to watch out for. The Descent and Centurion are two of my favorite Marshall films but in each of his credits he’s shown promise and potential, which is why I’m thrilled to hear that he’ll be taking a stab at The Last Voyage Of The Demeter.
/Film is reporting that Marshall is the latest name in a long list of directors who have attempted to get the project off the ground. Robert Schwentke (Red), Marcus Nispel (Conan the Barbarian), Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters) and David Slade (Hard Candy) have all made attempts in the past but no one has been able to put the pieces together thus far.
The film is related to the famous character Dracula in that it tells the story of the Demeter, “the name of the ship that transported Dracula from Transylvania to London in Bram Stoker’s classic tale. In that 1897 novel, the ship washes up on the shores of England, tattered and broken, with one raving-mad survivor. The script tells the tale of that journey, in which the crew is slaughtered one-by-one by a mysterious passenger.”
It sounds like an interesting story and Marshall is far from a stranger to horror. In fact, this sounds like something that could be right up his alley and though I don’t think it’s the type of project that would propel him onto the A-list (which is where he should be), it will still be another interesting credit to add to his already impressive resume.