The Damned (2024) | Review
Ah, nothing says cozy horror like a 19th-century Icelandic fishing village where the most exciting entertainment is probably watching ice melt. But wait! Director Thordur Palsson’s The Damned serves up something far more intriguing than your average frozen fish tale.
Young widow named Eva (played by Odessa Young, who deserves a medal for making wool clothing look fashionable), has inherited her late husband’s fishing boat. Instead of selling it and moving somewhere sensible – like, I don’t know, anywhere with central heating – she decides to stick around and manage a crew of gruff fishermen. Because obviously, that’s what any reasonable person would do in a place where the sun apparently thinks showing up is optional.
The plot thickens faster than frozen chum when a foreign ship starts sinking offshore. Now, this presents our frosty friends with the kind of moral dilemma that would make Philosophy 101 students break out in cold sweats: Do you risk life and limb to save strangers, or do you play it safe and pretend you suddenly can’t see beyond your own harbor? The situation gets even more morally murky when valuable supplies start washing up on land.
What follows is a deliciously ambiguous psychological horror show that keeps you guessing whether there’s something supernatural afoot or if everyone’s just suffering from severe seasonal affective disorder. The film masterfully plays with your expectations, never quite letting you settle on whether the shadows in the corners are vengeful spirits or just really aggressive dust bunnies.
The cinematography is gorgeous in that “everything is various shades of gray and blue” way that makes you reach for a blanket even in a heated theater. Eli Arenson’s camera work transforms the claustrophobic setting into something that feels simultaneously vast and suffocating – much like being trapped in a conversation about someone’s cryptocurrency investments.
The cast deserves special mention, particularly the ensemble of fishermen who convince you they’ve been working together for years, probably arguing about the same three topics on repeat (my money’s on fish, weather, and more fish). Joe Cole, Lewis Gribben, Francis Magee, and company bring such authentic chemistry to their roles that you can practically smell the sardine juice in their grizzled beards.
Now, let’s talk about pacing, because this film has a peculiar relationship with time. The beginning feels rushed, as if the first act got lost at sea, leaving us to piece together the backstory like we’re assembling IKEA furniture without instructions. Once it finds its rhythm, though, the horror elements start creeping in with all the subtlety of a foghorn in a library.
The jump scares follow a pretty predictable pattern: dark figure, creepy buildup, LOUD NOISE, false alarm. Rinse and repeat until you’ve developed a Pavlovian response to shadows.
Despite these minor quibbles, The Damned is a solid addition to the psychological horror genre. The practical effects and moody atmosphere prove you don’t need a massive CGI budget to make audiences uncomfortable – sometimes all you need is some well-placed shadows and the implication that your moral choices might literally come back to haunt you.
So, if you’re in the mood for a chilly tale that will make you second-guess both your night light and your ethical framework, The Damned delivers. Just maybe don’t watch it right before a fishing trip. Or during winter. Or alone. Actually, you know what? Just watch it with friends and a warm, spiked beverage. Trust me on this one.
