Seeing as his once-gestating Hellfest has been silent for nearly four months, THR informs us that Neil Marshall (The Descent, Centurion) is attached to go gothic with The Last Voyage of the Demeter. The Stoker enthusiasts among us will perk their ears at the lattermost word of that title, and they’d be well-advised to — the Bragi Schut-penned screenplay adapts a chapter from Dracula and turns it into an Alien-like horror story of survival. Or, the repeatedly failed attempt to.

Stoker‘s original text paints the Demeter as a ship transporting Dracula’s body from Transylvania to London, one which, by the time it crashes onto an English shore, only has a single body aboard. The novel’s epistolary structure gives us a recount of what occurred — probably to strong effect, if the book’s reputation means anything — but this project will fill in the blanks with gory detail.

Demeter, if you don’t remember, has been chugging along for quite some time, with Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters) being attached to helm more than two years ago. (That didn’t work out.) Our last update arrived all the way back in February of 2011, when Jude Law was going to star for David Slade — a job that would have made the latter name a three-time vampire veteran. (And, again…) Although Ben Kingsley and Noomi Rapace were also reportedly circling things — and although they’re no slouches — we’re almost back to square one, talent-wise. Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, and Bradley Fischer are still aboard, and will produce for Millennium Films.

If (if) Marshall were a better director, it’s fair to say my general attraction toward Demeter — a film that has a nice concept and exciting basic set-up — would be much higher. But The Descent was almost seven years ago, and Doomsday & Centurion haven’t been washed from my mind just yet. Needless to say, my hopes are impaired.

Is Marshall a good choice for this project? What do you make of Demeter, as a whole?