The Damned

What a fantastic kickoff for horror movies in 2025. This psychological horror flick is expertly crafted and features a strong female lead set against the backdrop of an Icelandic fishing village. The film opens with a group of fishermen enjoying dinner in a cozy cottage while a local woman shares a folk tale that sets the stage for the eerie journey ahead. It's got that slow-burn, atmospheric kind of horror, focusing on a folklore creature called the Draugr. The cast is amazing, with Odessa Young delivering a standout performance. The cinematography is stunning, capturing the freezing, snowy Icelandic landscape near the beach. Those exterior shots are just gorgeous to look at and perfectly convey the film's mood and themes. The music is spot-on, and the whole production is top-notch.

The Draugr seems to represent strangers in this wild setting where resources are scarce and food is limited, forcing characters into tough and traumatic decisions. But this movie goes beyond just showing how unforgiving nature can be; it digs into human nature itself-relationship dynamics, loss, grief, guilt, trauma, survival versus morality-the nature of evil, superstition and folklore, female agency, and what leadership truly means. It really explores how isolation and harsh conditions can play tricks on our minds and how we struggle to deal with hard truths. The themes here are just fantastic.

There's a line in the movie that really stuck with me: "The living are always more dangerous than the dead." I couldn't agree more. And by the way, that's a solid tip for all the horror filmmakers out there!

In summary, I highly recommend this movie to everyone-not just those who love psychological horror. It's such a breath of fresh air in today's horror scene and offers a really satisfying experience overall. Great performances from the entire cast, especially Odessa Young. Make sure to give it a watch without expecting it to be super scary!

I struggle to say anything really "bad" about this movie. I LOVED the movie for about 1hr and 26mins. Those final ~3ish minutes kind of soiled the entire movie for me.

I felt like the movie was VERY well done for what they were working with. It counts as an indie Irish folk horror film and in that regard, this movie is AMAZING. The acting was very well done, I felt like I couldn't find a single actor/actress that didn't feel like they weren't giving everything they had for their role.

The scenery in this movie as well, BEAUTIFUL. Filming in Iceland was an outstanding choice because every outdoor shot in this movie is gorgeous.

The jumpscares, though not plentiful, are set up and land very well for the average viewer, barring two really cheap jumpscares but that's allowed.

I enjoyed how the plot moved forward naturally, and it felt like none of the characters decisions were made in typical horror movie fashion aka "without a brain".

This movie also made me feel really bad for pretty much the entire crew. I felt like, even though they did NEARLY everything right, they still were punished for it. I understand that they set the tone early by explaining the folklore that these spirits are just full of rage with how their endings came to be, but it still felt bad having seen the characters do everything right and still get punished for making the correct choices. It felt like there was nothing they could do to stop what happened, and that left a bleak and sorrowful feeling during the entire movie. THIS IS NOT A BAD THING HOWEVER AND ADDED TO MY ENJOYMENT OF THE MOVIE.

That all comes, in my own opinion, undone with the ending. To keep the review spoiler free, I won't spoil the ending but, it did leave me feeling a little bit like "why did we do all of this"/"how did we not know this by now".

Overall however, the ending, after much consideration, wasn't enough to sway the rating or drop it too much, this is still a fantastic film and if you are a horror fan you should definitely watch this one. ESPECIALLY if you like the folk horror genre. Solid 7/10 when ranked with horror movie

Pros Solid acting Beautiful scenery Good jumpscares Good plot Great Sound design Good emotion

Cons Bad ending.

The good reviews have me a bit confused to be honest. Overall this film was boring. Slow burn can be really good and intense but I just think this was too boring, it never felt like it really got going. I will say that the performances are all very good (for a script that is not) and I noticed almost immediately that the score is good. Visually it was somewhat enjoyable but a little bit same same and like I say there just wasn't a lot happening. People dislike the ending but I honestly felt like that could've been the best bit if there was just more plot armour leading to it. The film needed a twist to make it interesting but a rushed twist just annoys everyone and makes the whole thing very mediocre.

I watched the Icelandic film 🇮🇸 The Damned (2024) in theaters this evening. The storyline follows an Icelandic fishing team that is hunkered down in a shack together trying to survive winter. One day they see a crashed ship in the water with an abandoned crew with nothing they can do to rescue them. After a few days they head out to see if they can obtain supplies and set off a series of unfortunate events that sets a curse on their camp.

This picture is directed by Thordur Palsson, in his directorial debut, and stars Odessa Young (Assassination Nation), Joe Cole (One of these Days), Lewis Gribben (T2 Trainspotting), Rory McCann (Game of Thrones) and Mícheál Óg Lane (The Guard).

The Damned is one of those movies that feels like it's missing an ingredient from beginning to end. The atmosphere and desperation of the circumstances is perfectly established with the attire, settings and backdrops. There's good use of background music to establish the drama and intensity. The movie does start with a bang. I'll also say eels aren't used enough in horror movies. There's awesome use of an ax and a fantastic throat slash. There's a strong buildup to the final scene, but the conclusion was disappointing.

In conclusion, The Damned has more than enough going on to keep your attention, but doesn't live up to its potential. I would score this a 6.5/10.

It's been a while since I've watched a horror movie, but today I decided to fill the gap, because it's rare to find a film that takes you back to such an early era. The action takes place in 1860 in an Icelandic fishing village lost in the ice. The nearest settlement is a three-day journey through snow-capped mountains, a real hell. The landscapes, especially the bay, emphasize the isolation of this place. Add to this the mystical folklore inspired by Scandinavian mythology and the eternal theme of lack of resources - and you get an eerie, disturbing atmosphere. From the first minutes, you feel how isolation, ominous tales around the campfire and the shadow of death weigh on the characters. The situation is fragile, as if ready to collapse at any moment. The film impressed with the choice of place and time, stunning scenery, impeccable camera work and acting. The plot keeps you in suspense until the end, although the ending seemed a little overloaded. A solid eight!