The Damned (2025) review

Dir. Thordur Palsson

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★

The first movie of 2025 is not an exciting new Blumhouse concept (M3GAN). It is neither a forgettable new Blumhouse concept (Night Swim) nor a lousy new Blumhouse sequel (Insidious: The Last Key). In fact, it’s not even a singularly American production at all. A doomy folktale, complementing the frigid temperatures of January with its wintry, polar cinematography, The Damned gives us a taste of the isolating existence of arctic fishers, who are trying desperately to feed their Icelandic village.

Set in the 19th century, the leader of the salty crew is Odessa Young’s Eva, a young widow, who along with her crew witnesses a sinking vessel not far from shore. Hearing the pained cries of the men aboard, they have only minutes to act. Ragnar (Rory McCann) thinks it’s a death wish; those rocks nearly sank their vessel not long ago. Daníel (Joe Cole) thinks they have no choice but to rescue them. Jonas (Lewis Gribben) does the only thing he knows and says a prayer. All heads turn to Eva, who makes the difficult but firm decision to let them drown, for the risk of her crew dying is too high. Later, an elderly woman (Siobhan Finneran) tells Eva of the draugr, or “reanimated corpse,” who can manipulate the living through vivid dreams.

This is where The Damned gets hairy. So much of its exposition, dominated by Icelandic folklore, is sporadically communicated by the elder in such a hushed whisper that the dramatic heft of the movie results in feeling like cinematic melatonin. The snores of the patron in my row during my showing confirm, if nothing else, the film’s side effects are potent.

The film starts with some claustrophobia-induced visuals (credit to Eli Arenson) showing life aboard the vessel, where Eva is the sole woman amongst a cavalry of loud, singing drunkards. The isolating landscape coupled with the brutal cold and dangers of the occupation prompt immediate interest. But after the foreign ship and its inhabitants drown, screenwriter Jamie Hannigan fails to develop the crew to make the weight of the supernatural forces encroaching on them resonate. Director Thordur Palsson suggests there will be more to the plot, but then launches into familiar jump-scare territory, including some inexplicable interludes showing flying embers and an incendiary blaze.

A concept like The Damned fails because it’s too quick to move past its moral quandary. Hannigan’s script should’ve spent more time centered on the crew mulling over whether or not to save the sinking ship. It would’ve not only prompted more suspense, but also a window into the perspectives of the characters. Palsson is too quick to get to the draugr stuff, which can’t escape one dimensionality when forced with haunting individuals so paper-thin.

Starring: Odessa Young, Joe Cole, Siobhan Finneran, Rory McCann, Turlough Convery, Lewis Gribben, Francis Magee, and Mícheál Óg Lane. Directed by: Thordur Palsson.