The Damned (2025)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Something Fishy

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

The word "atmospheric" is unfortunately overused, yet nonetheless perfectly applies to Thordur Palsson's The Damned. The freezing, desolate arctic winter is the most important thing in the movie, the thing that makes everything work so well. Moments in the boat on the freezing water, in dark rooms lit by candles, gray mornings on the shore, at the communal table lit by dancing fire, all benefit from atmosphere. It's what makes the threat of the evil draugr all the more plausible.

It's the 19th century, and Eva (Odessa Young, Assassination Nation, Shirley) manages a fishing station. Her husband has died, but she continues to run things, as she has no where else to go. The men — Daníel (Joe Cole), Ragnar (Rory McCann), Skuli (Francis Magee), Hakón (Turlough Convery), Aron (Mícheál Óg Lane), and Jonas (Lewis Gribben) — seem to respect her. But their food is in short supply, and there's still a long winter ahead. They spot a wrecked ship among the jagged stones called "the teeth" some ways from shore, and the grim decision is made that they cannot offer rescue. But when a barrel of salt pork washes ashore, they take a boat out to see if they can find more, which leads to disaster.

Worse, it leads to some kind of haunting, from a creature known as the aforementioned draugr. The only other woman at the station, the superstitious Helga (Siobhan Finneran), places charms around, but nothing seems to help, and spooky things begin to happen. A feature writing and directing debut for Icelandic Palsson (who worked on the series The Valhalla Murders), The Damned is a beautifully-crafted film, tightly-structured, and with a wallop of an ending. My only nitpick is that it's often difficult to tell the men characters apart, given that they're all dressed alike, and that things are frequently dark, but it's a forgivable flaw.