Directed by: Thordur Palsson
Written by: Jamie Hannigan
While we here in Minnesota are having a relatively mild (albeit wet) summer, it might be hard to imagine being chilled to the bone this time of year. However, today’s movie, with its icy setting and shiver-inducing plot, will do just that.
The Damned follows Eva (Odessa Young), a 19th-century widow leading her late husband’s group of fishermen in their remote Icelandic village. When a foreign ship sinks off its coast one night, the group has to make a difficult decision, which may lead to deadly results.
The Damned is one of the few recent horror films that has kept me guessing until the very end. The writing and direction make it delightfully and maddeningly difficult to figure out if something supernatural is terrorizing the group or if the stress and isolation of their situation are playing tricks on their minds. There are next to no special effects, minus a small bit of CGI toward the end, so the scares are accomplished practically through moody lighting and claustrophobic sets. The score is eerie and dissonant, setting the tone perfectly.
The cast is equally exceptional. Lead actor Odessa Young gives a grounded and believable performance as Eva, and I hope to see her in more starring roles. While Rory McCann’s role as Ragnar is brief, I’m always excited to see him on screen in any capacity. And the core group of fishermen—Joe Cole as Daniel, Lewis Gribben as Jonas, Francis Magee as Skuli, Turlough Convery as Hakon, and Mícheál Óg Lane as Aron—have a natural chemistry; it really feels like they have all lived and worked side by side for years.
My only real gripe about this film has to do with the pacing. It’s not a long movie, clocking in at just under an hour and a half, but the introduction feels rushed and could use more fleshed-out exposition. It feels like it starts in the middle, and because of that, the rest of the movie drags a bit. If the beginning had been better established, the actual horror would have felt more balanced and less of a slog.
Overall, though, The Damned is absolutely a worthwhile watch. If you happen to see it on any streaming services, I’d highly recommend watching it on a dark, stormy night.
Have you seen The Damned? What did you think?
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FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
OK, adding it to the watchlist.
Great reviews as always. I’m not sure whether I will watch this film because I’m not a huge fan of the horror genre. Over the past decade, I’ve found such films to often be a chore to sit through. With the exception of “A Quiet Place” and a few others, horror movies have mostly failed to impress me. That being said, I got to admit that “The Damned” does sound interesting. The concept of this film set on a remote village with the themes of isolation reminds me a lot of “The Lighthouse”. Robert Eggers’ film built a similarly tense feeling through its themes of isolation in 19th Century. So, I will keep “The Damned” on my watchlist of movies to see this year. Thanks for the recommendation.
Here’s why I loved “The Lighthouse”:
Hey Hassan, this is my friend Laura’s review. I don’t do horror typically, A Quiet Place is an exception 🙂 I haven’t seen The Lighthouse, which sounds terrifying and claustrophobic.
Thanks for the feedback Ruth. “The Lighthouse” is definitely worth seeing. It’s more of a psychological thriller than horror movie. I’m not a huge fan of the horror genre either but loved this film. It’s a terrifying movie because it’s unlike anything I have ever seen.
Here’s my review for the movie once again (if you consider seeing it):
Yeah I really wanted to watch it but even the trailer looked spooky. Not sure it’s for me, even though I love Defoe and Pattinson. Great review btw!
WHERE I CAN WATCH THIS MOVIE?? THE TRAILER AT LEAST???
There’s no trailer yet, but the film has found a US distributor according to this article https://deadline.com/2024/06/the-damned-movie-acquired-vertical-ahead-tribeca-premiere-1235958098/ Looks like it’ll be released later this year.
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Ill paced or not, 4/5 reels is “damned” impressive.
Ruth, I just couldn’t resist.
It does sound like a late night movie when it comes on tv, for me anyway.
Thank you for the review!
AND thank you for visiting my Art Gowns blog. I found the email notifications of your visit in my email SPAM. (so over zealous, but better safe than sorry) I rescued them. This weekend I’ll log out of Glam, and into Art Gowns. I need to approve your comments while logged in. All first time comments need approval.
I hope you had a smashing Fourth of July! 🇺🇸🌟🌹❦
Hello Resa! Oh this is my friend Laura’s guest post… she’s my ‘horror correspondent’ for the blog as I don’t typically watch scary movies.
I love your Art Gowns blog, thanks for letting me know about it!
Oh! How did I miss that? I mean that it was a guest post?
Pardon! & Cheers to Laura!