Thordur Palsson’s The Damned explores the complexities of morality. Set in a harsh winter in the 19th century, the occupants of a fishing outpost discover a shipwrecked crew in need of assistance. With their own resources running low, Eva (Odessa Young) and her community choose their own survival over that of the others. Their decision, though, holds consequences: Both for their collective conscience and what they experience thereafter.
Jamie Hannigan’s script, based on a story by Palsson, doesn’t offer too many twists and turns. It introduces the concept of the Draugur from Norse mythology, but the strength of the story lies in what’s left unsaid, what the characters grapple with in the recesses of the mind. They’re isolated from the world – both physically and psychologically – as they’re forced to come to terms with what they did. Expectedly, they unravel, posing the question: Who’s really the damned here?
Thordur Palsson’s The Damned values the visceral over violence
Eerie. That’s the only way to describe the mood of The Damned. Thordur Palsson creates a lingering uneasiness that cuts through the air and betrays the beauty of the winter wilderness. The director plants this atmospheric seed among Eva and her group right from the beginning, even before they discover the shipwrecked crew. One can’t call it distrust or animosity; it’s simply people at the end of their tether. They’re in survival mode, hence them making such a cruel choice that sentences others to death. What follows becomes a journey through guilt and grief.
The frights never devolve into jumpscares or monster mayhem. It’s about the sinister effect on the community’s mind and how it drives them to the brink of insanity. Palsson utilizes both space and silence to drive home this message, letting the scenes and compositions do the talking rather than rely on ludicrous amounts of exposition or a spooky score. Resultantly, when matters escalate, they hit harder than usual.
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Odessa Young, Rory McCann, and Joe Cole explore the consequences of their characters’ actions
The Damned features stellar performances across the board. Rory McCann’s Ragnar might not have a lot of screen time, but he plays a critical role in shaping the initial direction of the story. He’s the devil on the community’s shoulder – the by-any-means-necessary type – though he proves they’re all not so different after all. While it’s all too easy to draw comparisons to McCann’s Game of Thrones character, The Hound, since both characters subscribe to the dog-eat-dog mentality, Ragnar isn’t quite as selfish.
Odessa Young’s Eva and Joe Cole’s Daniel represent the different reactions to guilt. One feels remorse, while the other justifies. They know what happened was morally wrong, but they process it differently. Eva is a character pushed into a position of power that she never expected, so she experiences the burden of making decisions that she might never have imagined. Young encapsulates this in her performance, demonstrating both the uncertainty and overwhelming sense of responsibility for the community. Cole plays Daniel as the voice of reason for Eva, attempting to ease her conscience of what happened, but underneath the composed exterior, the guilt burdens him too.
Is The Damned worth watching?
At 89 minutes, The Damned exits at the right point before it retreads the same-old waters. However, the telegraphed ending doesn’t taste quite as sweet as what came before it. Throughout the film, there are allusions to John Carpenter’s The Thing, and The Damned‘s ending could have benefited from following in the 1982 classic’s footsteps and leaving events more ambiguous for the viewers. All in all, though, Thordur Palsson’s feature film debut carves its way to being a bone-chilling experience. Don’t be surprised to see the director helming a Blumhouse or A24 movie next.
The Damned |
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A 19th-century widow has to make an impossible choice when, during an especially cruel winter, a foreign ship sinks off the coast of her Icelandic fishing village. |
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| Studio: Elation Pictures, Netop Films, Wild Atlantic Pictures, Ley Line Entertainment |
| Running Time: 1h 29m |
| Release Date: 3 January 2025 |
| Cast: Odessa Young, Joe Cole, Lewis Gribben, Siobhan Finneran, Francis Magee, Rory McCann, Turlough Convery, Mícheál Óg Lane, Guillermo Uria |
| Director: Thordur Palsson |
| Writers: Jamie Hannigan, Thordur Palsson |
| Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery |
| Box Office: N/A |
The Review
The Damned
The Damned chills in a harrowing story about guilt and grief.
Review Breakdown
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Verdict
