Director: Thordur Palsson
Writers: Jamie Hannigan, Thordur Palsson
Stars: Odessa Young, Joe Cole, Lewis Gribben
Synopsis: 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.
The Damned is a twisted fairytale captured in a grim and frigid Icelandic background. The film opens with a flushed-faced widow, Eva (Odessa Young), in a wintry 19th-century coastline outpost. Resources are scarce, with a rough winter hitting Eva and a group of fishermen inhabiting the outpost. Doom latches onto the starved bunch as a shipwreck occurs off the coastline, forcing a burdensome toll on them all. Damned if they do, and damned if they don’t, but they must make a choice.
Eva and the fishermen start to feel something dark haunting their barren shack homes. Is this the punishment for their inhumanity, or simply an old wives’ tale? Each night brings new horrors for the crew, as Eva learns more about the dark spirit that is causing members to spiral into madness. As stories begin to be spun by Helga (Siobhan Finneran) who pleads with Eva a tale of warning about the evil harboring within their home. As the group’s numbers dwindle and the nights grow colder, the psyche of those remaining begins to slip. Hungry and haunted Eva remains steadfast on taking out this dark being, by any means necessary.
The Damned is a strong entry into isolated horror as it makes it glaringly obvious how deserted this fishing outpost is on the coastline. Outlined by glacial waters in a sea of white snow is where Eva and Ragnar (Rory McCann, Daniel (Joe Cole),, and the other fishermen live. Their living conditions are as grim as you’d imagine; there’s a dampness to their beds and bleakness to their clothes. With only each other to keep company, their morals clash; but with nowhere to go, they are forced to fester together with their dwindling numbers and wandering thoughts as companions. Eva attempts to keep the group together in both the literal and figurative sense.
Thordur Palsson, who directs and crafted the story along with writer Jamie Hannigan, does well in The Damned to show the cause and effect of the actions of these tragic men and women. And although the viewer could agree or disagree with their decisions, they lay out that the outcome will be gruesome, no matter what. Their use of Helga to bring in another layer of fear to Eva with the tales of a dark entity ramps up the stakes, but unfortunately it mostly feels like the plotline exists to shoehorn in some jump scares. Eva is the only character that gets much characterization, making it easy to root for her survival, yet leaving much to be desired for the film’s supporting characters, who are only ever explored once it’s too late to care.
While the script falls short, the visuals in The Damned is where the film truly excels. Here is a film that needs to be watched with a warm blanket as the blue chill is felt through the screen from cinematographer Eli Arenson. Shot on location in Iceland, the atmosphere from the start is eerie due to the calm winter silence. The best moments come with Eva wandering shoreside, overlooking the coast with mountaintops and endless sea in front of her, showing just how alone they are. Often lit with candles, night scenes create hard-to-see moments but drive home the 19th century vibe. The camera lingers on hard to stomach moments of face slashing letting those unsettling moments of cruelness sink in.
Performance-wise, everyone does a serviceable job, the standout being Young. Her character is what keeps the crew going, having to patch them up when things get rough and knowing when to handle business. Her portrayal of a young widowed woman who is thrust into a leading role carries many of the film’s more somber moments. Forced to go from a more reserved and quiet woman in the corner to a desperate warrior willing to venture into the frozen mountains to put an end to their torment. Outside of Young’s performance, McCann, even with his limited screen time, has the most memorable moments from the film as the loud-mouth leader of the fishermen.
The Damned is a solid first feature from Thordur Palsson, who has crafted a dreadfully bleak tale of actions and consequences. Carried by blistering visuals and a strong lead performance by Odessa Young, the film showcases psychological terror that will chill you to the bone. Akin to a lite version of Robert Eggers, it’s enough to want to check out what Palsson does next.
