“The Damned” (2024) is set after December 21, 1871 at an isolated fishing outpost off the coast of Iceland. Widow Eva (Odessa Young) owns the place, and it is such a lean winter that she, her charwoman, Helga (Siobhan Finneran), and the seven fishermen who lodge there, but the latter are unbothered and hearty, are eating the bait. When a ship sinks in the distance, they sympathize but decide not to help them because it would endanger their lives. After that decision, misfortune plagues them. Is it just the natural result of an arctic wilderness, a trick of the mind or a supernatural being out for vengeance?
Even though I watch too many movies and anticipated the plot twist, I still enjoyed “The Damned” and kept jumping out of my seat. Usually, a movie tries to execute two possible explanations then fails at making one feasible. Instead, all three options worked and were genuinely terrifying. In an unexpected twist of events, the movie’s opening act reminded me of the girls’ night dinner in “The Last Showgirl” (2024)—hear me out! Annette (scene stealer Jamie Lee Curtis) insists that she is filled with luck and a similarly boisterous and upbeat helmsman, Ragnar (Rory “The Hound” McCann), speaks similarly about the prospects based on his extensive fishing history. Both people boast while their environment is literal evidence of their lack of good fortune. It is denial at its finest—human beings seeing disaster befall others and think that they are immune to it when they are simply next.
Seeing clearly is a challenge because of the harsh environment, which director and cowriter Thordur Palsson captures expertly in his feature film debut. A lot of more experienced directors allow the beauty of Iceland to overwhelm them then the movie suffers from a lack of story because they lean too heavily on the atmosphere. Also it is really cool to see one scene that echoes “Nosferatu” (2024)—we all drink from the same stream—a cemetery next to the shore. Palsson and editors Tony Cranstoun and Nathan Nugent balance the beauty and sheer terror of the environment. The transitions from one ordinary moment to the other are sufficient jump scares: the tossing of planks of wood onto a boat, the hammering of water, the closing of a book outdoors. One guy accidentally falls to his death because it is too foggy. Are they damned for deciding to come there? Before “The Damned” even begins, Eva has already experienced tragedy because her husband, Magnus Magnusson, fell victim to the Teeth, a narrow passageway with too many rocks. As the ship sinks, it is merciless and gorgeous.
Of course, a guilty conscience plagues everyone for making a decision that is inhumane and reasonable, which is difficult to stomach for most of the residents as Christians who pray for the ship’s crew. “The Damned” is told from Eva’s point of view because she did have the decisive vote as the owner. Young is convincing as someone who is torn up but also determined to accept her decision. She resists superstition, tries to create a new moral paradigm about how to handle the dead and their belongings as they wash ashore and wants to move on. She is confident enough to hold her own even with a naturally dominant figure like Ragnar and seems to get along with his son, Daniel (Joe Cole), who is naturally protective of her and willing to show her the ropes. Eventually the mounting torment is too much to ignore, and Eva starts believing in the supernatural. Are they damned for not obeying God’s word and being good Samaritans? They are monsters feeding off the dead’s food. Jonas (Lewis Gribben) thinks so and urges everyone to repent instead of entertaining pagan rites.
Helga and Aron (Michael Og Lane) know and believe the mythology behind their tribulations: the draugur, one of the shipwrecked dead—like zombies but more supernatural with the ability to destroy minds in dreams, turn people against each other and shapeshift into seals according to the Laxdeala Saga. As depicted in “The Damned,” draugur sounds like the vampire in “The Vourdalak” (2024), a sopping wet sound which is repulsive and denotes its origins. Eva is convinced that she sees its mutilated face and crouching body, but then it shifts into another figure. How else would one of the coffins’ nails no longer be hammered into place? Unprovoked, Hakon (Turlough Convery) turns on Daniel. One by one, people begin to lose their minds. Are the damned referring to the dragur or his intended victims because he will never relent on his quest for vengeance? The only way to kill a dragur is to burn it. I love when a movie uses a different type of supernatural figure and sticks the landing.
“The Damned” only suffers from one problem. It is slightly confusing that everyone clearly has names that sound Nordic, but everyone has Irish, English and Scottish accents whereas the foreigners off the coast speak in another language that sounds Nordic, but are supposed to be considered strange, If the film was non-English, it would be hard to attract an audience, so the creative choice makes fiscal sense. From a creative standpoint, it would make the characters seem less sympathetic if there was no language barrier or distance if they forsake people that were just like them. Eyeroll.
“The Damned” is good for what it does not do. Even though men outnumber women, there is no sexual violence. There is a hint of flirtation and attraction between Daniel and Eva, but it never displaces the story. Because Helga tells a scary story involving an envious man murdering a husband, I briefly wondered if Magnus was the Draugur (Andrean Sigurgeirsson), especially after a flash of Magnus grace, but no. If Americans made this movie, it would tie neatly like a bow, but no. Eva has not lost her mind, which is a common trope in films like “The Wind” (2018), “The Babadook” (2014) and “The Devil’s Bath” (2024) which uses horror elements to illustrate the hardships that women had to endure in a harsh environment and how it breaks their minds. Except for “The Babadook,” those types of movies often feel like a cynical rip-off because they know no one wants to watch a period drama about women in peril so they frame it like a horror movie. Hey, I enjoyed “The Homesman” (2014). Straight, no chaser.
Palsson and cowriter Jamie Hannigan should be proud of themselves for making such a solid movie. In the end, “The Damned” is about how monsters distract us from the monstrousness within. It is far more satisfying than the somewhat problematic “Out of Darkness” (2024). The cast became their characters. Young is a chameleon actor, and no one would guess that she is the same person who played the protagonist in “My First Film” (2024), one of my favorite 2024 films. This film may not be perfect, but neither are people.
