Written and directed by Thordur Palsson, a 19th-century widow has to make an impossible choice when, during an especially cruel winter, a foreign ship sinks off the coast of her Icelandic fishing village. Starring: Odessa Young, Joe Cole, Lewis Gribben, Siobhan Finneran, Francis Magee, Rory McCann, Turlough Convery and Mícheál Óg Lane.
It’s practically impossible not to immediately inject your film with a rich, ominous atmosphere when it’s set on such an unforgiving, isolated and frozen landscape. It’s both beautiful and deadly, which perfectly sets the scene for The Damned. This is an intensely bleak story, Thordur Palsson’s writing captures that this was a daily existence at one point but to a modern day audience looks like hell. There’s a lot of hopelessness and doom lingering in the air, as well as a heavy sadness.
What’s interesting about the way that it moves through this rough, bitter terrain, is that it never quite commits to one genre. It weaves its way through a few in an unusual way, it brings through a vein of horror but is mostly drama, with a touch of mystery and the vague remnants of fantasy. It works but unfortunately doesn’t feel very satisfying, there’s something there but its bark is not as strong as its bite. Especially when paired with a cinematography that is underwhelming, not quite grasping the sharpness and harsh contrast of its colours.
The cast however is a high point, Odessa Young leads the way with a complicated performance, doing a wonderful job of capturing all of the conflict that Eva faces. The loss of her husband versus the need to move forward, while trying to simply survive, it’s compelling and understated. Joe Cole provides a touch of warmth to this unforgiving environment, adding a sense of compassion and kindness. Siobhan Finneran is also a joy to see here, she is vastly underrated so it’s only a shame she doesn’t get more screentime.
The Damned has a lot of potential, especially for a debut feature from Thordur Palsson but not all of it comes to fruition. It creates a solid atmosphere to explore its folktale, ghost story mix within the characters’ constant fight for survival. However, the visual isn’t as strong as hoped considering its fantastic setting and while the performances are great across the board, it’s missing a bigger punch. Its final crescendo feels like a letdown, needing to deliver a resounding note to resolve its slow-burn, suspicious sojourn.
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