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The Damned
2025 89 min Ireland, United Kingdom, Iceland, Belgium R 16+
★6.4
Horror, Drama, Mystery
Director: Thordur Palsson
Trailers
Description
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.
US Gross:
$1.34M
Worldwide:
$1.35M
Starring
Odessa Young
Actor
Joe Cole
Actor
Siobhan Finneran
Actor
Awards
1 win & 3 nominations total
Key opinion
The Damned is a visually striking piece of folk horror that excels in atmosphere and performance but struggles under the weight of a flawed, illogical narrative. While its depiction of 19th-century isolation and existential dread resonates with many, others find the slow-burn approach undermined by a repetitive and nonsensical script.
| Production | The production design and cinematography effectively capture the brutal, freezing isolation of the 19th-century Scandinavian coast. | |
| Acting | The cast, particularly Rory McCann, provides strong performances that ground the film's folk-horror premise. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is widely criticized for its lack of internal logic, particularly regarding the characters' questionable decision-making during the central shipwreck incident. | |
| Pacing | The film’s meditative, slow-burn pacing is praised by those who enjoy atmospheric dread, but dismissed as dull or repetitive by those expecting a tighter thriller. | |
| Ending | The final act is frequently cited as a point of failure, with viewers describing the ending as both absurd and tonally jarring. |