Adapting a single chapter of Dracula, it might have occurred to the filmmakers to read the entire novel. Nowhere in Dracula do vampires have an issue with sunlight, Dracula himself appearing in midday London. So, I do wonder why the filmmakers committed so hard to the explody vampire trope. Beyond this irksome peeve, this is actually a gorgeous film, by the same director behind the amazing ‘Autopsy of Jane Doe’. While this never reaches the same level of horror, he has a great sense of tension and atmospherics, each scene where the characters are being hunted wielding eerie whispers and visual trickery to great success. This is a presentation of Dracula at his most demonic, starved and feral in his hunting and attacks, animalistic but never without intelligence or guile. The effects are very decent, an amalgam of practical and computer generated, but it is notable how consistently better practical effects appear. The film makes the most of its claustrophobic setting, with excellent attention to detail on the historical elements of the ship and costuming. The attacks are vicious, and there is plenty of blood, even if nothing is particularly frightening. The writing and editing could use a little work, the setup is easily 30 minutes too long, there are some severe plot holes, and obvious limitations to where they can take the story, but on the whole characters are well developed, and once the voyage begins, the pacing gets brisk. The last act gets a bit loud, almost an action set-piece and the ending is obviously trying to setup sequels and franchise potential which strikes one as odd, again, if they had actually read the book. But irregardless, this is one of the few examples of a big-budget studio horror worth your time.