Horror Movie Review: The Damned (2024)

Directed by Thordur Palsson and written by Jamie Hannigan, who adapted the screenplay from a story by Palsson, The Damned is such a promising folk horror film that slowly, but notably, loses its way as it goes on. It might be thick with atmosphere, and feature some staggeringly good acting, but by the end all it leaves is a strong sense of disappointment.

Set in Iceland in the 19th century, Odessa Young plays Eva, a young woman in charge of a remote winter fishing outpost. She took charge following the death of her husband Magnus and has tried to keep the crew alive as a harsh winter has seen their supplies slowly dwindle. Things are getting desperate, and then they witness a shipwreck at a dangerous part of the sea they call ‘the Teeth’, which is the same place that cost Magnus his life.

With limited resources, Eva and her helmsman Ragnar (Rory McCann) agree to leave the poor sailors to their fate. They can’t help, and anyone they could maybe save, would just be a drain on their supplies. Alas, it’s a decision that they will come to regret as sinister events start to occur and it all seems to be linked to the shipwreck.

Have the crew returned from the grave to take their revenge on those who refused to help them in their time of need?

The Damned is inspired by the Iceland folktales of ‘draugr’ which are undead men who return to seek revenge. Which should allow The Damned to be more imaginative when it comes to supernatural imagery and scares. The tone of the first half, and how much atmosphere the location has, suggests that is what we will get.

Alas, The Damned has no imagination and what we actually get, slowly, is overly familiar supernatural sightings and little else. Making the folklore side of things feel pointless. Who cares if it’s a ‘draugr’ when it just does the same ‘ghostly’ things as every other supernatural entity. Even the idea that it effects the mind and can drive people to do disturbing stuff fails to deliver. So, it doesn’t even work as a psychological horror, even though it does try to make that a more important factor.

It’s such a shame as, and it can’t be understated, the film has so much atmosphere and uses the location it’s set in to enhance that. You will feel the cold, the isolation, and the dread that comes when faced with massive expanses of nothing. There’s a gothic feel to things, mainly because of the period it is set in, and the blurring of reality does make for a discomforting watch. If this film was judged on atmosphere alone, it would be rated so high, especially when you throw in great performances like the one that we get from Odessa Young.

By the time it reaches its conclusion, the film has lost a lot of its good will, and most will be feeling quite bored. Alas, it’s not quite done disappointing as the finale feels the need to spell out exactly what was going on, rather than leave it ambiguous and up to the viewer to decide on. Which would be fine, if what it revealed was both interesting and surprising, which it isn’t.

It’s not a terrible film by any stretch, it’s just not as good as it could have been.