The Damned

It's the start of the film 'dead zone' this season and through my research, there's not a lot of great films coming. And, even though "The Damned" has an interesting premise, it does become mired down with some disjointedness as it unfolds in the script, It's a horror film, however there is a fair deal of suspense and keeps one on pins and needles. 

Eva (Odessa Young), a 19th century widow is tasked with making the impossible choice when, in the middle of an especially cruel winter, a ship sinks off the coast of her isolated Icelandic fishing post. Eva and her crew, including Daniel (Joe Cole), Jonas (Lewis Gribben), Helga (Siobhan Finneran), Skuli (Francis Magee) and others, must choose to either rescue the shipwrecked or survive the winter with their last remaining food. Facing the consequences of their choice and tormented by their guilt, the inhabitants wrestle with a mounting sense of dread and begin to believe they are all being punished for their choices. 

Others to round out the cast are Rory McCann as Ragnar, Tullough Convery as Hakon, Micheal Og Lane as Aron, Arnar Gray as Dead Boy and Guillermo Uria as Shipwreck Survivor. 

This was powerfully directed by virtual newcomer to feature films, Thordur Falsson ("TV/shorts). This filmmaker's ability to film in very close quarters to give that certain frenetic feel to the production was amazingly effective as was shooting a fair deal of the film in the dark. All of these actors were able to dig deep into themselves to convince us of their plight, and this is talented direction. It was effectively written by Jamie Hannigan ("Pilgrimage" '17) plus TV and shorts with not a whole lot of experience than that of Palsson, and we see that this film is extremely captivating and clearly tests the audience's ability to figure what is truly happening when it comes to questioning what's really happening to these people. Are these people truly being haunted by the shipwrecked because the others being left without enough food, or are these same people suffering due to their guilt of not rescuing the shipwrecked? Really, other than a couple of places of disjointedness in script, this was a puzzling yet captivating screenplay. Will they survive their fate and be able to figure out what is going on? There is a huge twist with this to watch out for that will leave you totally surprised. 

If you like horror, thrillers or suspense films, this is the film for you since it houses all three aspects. The cinematography by Eli Arenson and sound design by Quentin Collette is intense as it is effective to the story. Being basically 90 minutes in its running time allows it to cut to the chase so not a great deal of character develop here, but this doesn't need it. It's a gripper!

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                      Rated: R                                               89mins.