The Damned (2025) is directed by Thordur Palsson and stars Odessa Young, Joe Cole, Rory McCann, Lewis Gribben, Siobhan Finneran, Francis Magee, Turlough Convery, Micheal Og Lane, and Andrean Sigurgeirsson. The story takes place during the 19th century and follows Eva (Young), the widowed owner of an isolated fishing outpost who is forced to make a grueling choice after a mysterious ship sinks off the coast nearby. When various members of the crew begin seeing visions of a fabled demon known as The Draguer (Sigurgeirsson), they become convinced that a dark force is approaching to make them pay for their past sins. When these dark occurrences soon turn deadly, Eve enlists the remaining members of her crew – including her deceased husband’s best friend, Daniel (Cole) – to stop the curse before it consumes them all.

Although this is somewhat of a “been there, done that” kind of horror experience, it features some strong performances from even those with the smallest roles. Odessa Young is convincing as this kind of weathered leader, but the script is smart enough to give her realistic limitations to balance the character’s less convincing horror-heroine tropes. Joe Cole is well-cast as Eve’s second-in-command/love interest, but it’s a character we’ve seen countless times before. Cole squints his eyes and whispers his way through the movie like he’s done his entire career. 

Rory McCann is a fun addition as the crew’s weathered veteran. His natural, brute-like presence feels perfect for this kind of material. After his breakout role as The Hound in Game of Thrones (2011-2019), it’s nice to see that Hollywood understands how to cast him. When considering his appearances in this film, Gladiator 2, and Knuckles, he should give himself a pat on the back for having a great year. 

Two actors who I was particularly impressed by were Lewis Gribben and Micheal Og Lane. Their roles are small, but they each receive one of the script’s more effective monologues. These two scenes are integral to the story’s overarching themes and without them, I’m pretty sure I would be a lot more negative about the experience. 

The film features wonderful cinematography and massive vistas of towering glaciers. This setting simultaneously creates feelings of isolation and claustrophobia because the glaciers surround the characters in almost every direction. There’s no life and no way out. Everything also feels appropriately cold. There’s never a feeling of respite from the deadly winter chill which helps to amplify the overall tension.

Although the film is well-produced on almost every technical level, it struggles to impress because the story has nothing new to offer. It’s much too similar to Out of Darkness, another supernatural period-piece survival film that was released earlier this year. The thing is, that was a film that I also criticized for being unoriginal. I will admit that The Damned’s twist ending works a lot better than Out of Darkness, but it still feels a tad too pretentious for its own good. I didn’t think the ending worked, but it’s tough to criticize the film’s only attempt at originality. By the third act, I found myself tuning out because I knew more or less where things were going. I think this is because the pacing suffers from revealing too much too early. Yes, things are reframed by the ending, but by then it’s hard to care because it wasn’t a very engaging journey getting to that point. 

Overall, this a well-made yet painfully unoriginal experience that’s forgettable in the larger context of the genre but beats the pants off of most other January horror releases. The movie is a great example of the idea that a skilled filmmaker can only take things so far. To make a great film, you also need a great script/story. I have a feeling that some viewers will enjoy it significantly more than I do, and I’m not inclined to argue with them. It’s a decent meal, I’ve just eaten it one too many times. B-