Available on Amazon PrimeThe best way to experience Thordur Palsson’s The Damned is to turn off the heat! Whether at the theatre, where it continues to play, or at home, this wonderfully eerie film delivers solid chills when the viewing environment is perfect! That way, viewers can feel the cold as it settles. At the time, I had the temperature unintentionally dialed low.
In this remote 19th century village, Eva (Odessa Young) is now in charge and works hard to keep the fishermen from deserting. She was a wife to a fisherman who unfortunately perished in a shipwreck during their last fishing journey. While I’m not entirely sure how many people live in this hamlet, I suspect that the initial bunch of twenty something dwindled down to eight by the time this movie starts, and pretty soon, even those people are dying because there’s no food left.
When the tides come roaring in, The Teeth will doom the fate of any boat sailing too close to shore. As this winter is even harsher than this group remembers, not even they will sail out to find survivors. When they don’t hear any screams and think it’s best not to verify, that’s when the movie becomes more than a fable. Guilt hangs everywhere, and when Helga (Siobhan Finneran) recognizes the signs, this tale takes on a new tone. And what happens is just as scary as John Carpenter’s The Fog.
For hell hath no fury than a body not given last rites. Instead of ghosts, the creature born out of hate is a revenant. It will exact revenge until some kind of justice is served. In Icelandic folklore, people know them as draugr, and although these tales often show them guarding treasure, they have other uses as well! I particularly liked how the camera kept the entity mysterious.
Not every horror movie has to present the figure in all its visual glory, and in how this work delivers is to make those moments quick! We’re not supposed to know what it looks like, and that helps add to the tension.
Unlike the Viking sagas, this look at Hel’s domain is very dangerous to the core! When those bodies at that doomed ship get no last rites, that’s a recipe for disaster. It’s now considered a ghost ship.
And when the flashback delivers the most meaningful moments, I shudder to think what the heroine is going through. Apparently, Eva couldn’t handle being in charge. Horror movies need to end on the right note, and this one scores top marks for doing the right thing for all the wrong reasons! You’ll just have to watch this film to the end to know what I’m talking about.
4 Stars out of 5
The Damned Movie Trailer
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