The Damned

Pretty good low budget horror. Atmospheric & odd as well. Well acted too.

I enjoyed this unique, slow burn of a film. Not exactly horror, more a folk tale, or a battle of the mind over environment. The location elements, and nautical realities of this kind of work, really reminded me of "The Terror" series 1. The cinematography is lush, grim, unsettling and dramatically gorgeous. The situation is believable and the set up is nicely revealed with a great cast. Without giving spoilers, I DID enjoy the ending, however, it left a few questions about at least 2 decent sized plot points earlier on, that are left unexplained if we are finishing the story this way, if that makes sense, which I found frustrating. Spooky and atmospheric, well worth a watch if you are a fan of folk horror/thrillers.

Very under the skin like, atmosperic horror movie. Odessa Young and Joe Cole are very good. It's 1,5 hours and it's pace isn't that fast, which for me is a good thing, and worksr really well. The setting and scenery at the Artic is done really well and clever. Who/what is the real evil going on here?

Nothing much happens for nearly half the runtime, other than Irish fisherman getting drunk, crashing boats, and drowning as it meanders in the dark without direction for far too long. Then some fishy things start happening... a satisfying conclusion could have got this above water, instead it sank into the briny deeps, never to be seen again, forever damned.

Quite effectively made, but nothing really new, except maybe the Arctic fishing station setting, which is the very definition of desolation. Relies on, by my count, at least 7 jump scares.

Very atmospheric. The ending was decent.

Needed some work. There was a lot of little things for me that I didn’t like like the acing, the script, and Helga as a character but it was still a good film. It reminded me of Robert Eggars and had great suspense. Great acting by Odessa Young and many moments that made you slightly clench up. If they nitpicked a little bit more than the film could have been much better.

This was a great movie. The twists and turns and that ending! Rory McCann's character left a little too soon for my taste, which is why the 4 stars. Pop some corn and have a seat.

Great horror and Great film!!!

This movie is going to be described by critics as "slow burn." For a film to be slow burn, it actually has to lead to something. The Damned, while beautifully shot and competently acted, does the exact opposite with its script. It starts with a mildly interesting premise and devolves into boring and predictable schlock. Halfway through you will probably have guessed the ending and *spoiler warning* you're exactly right. The trailers and even online reviews market The Damned as supernatural and it's very clearly not. It doesn't even do a good job if being a "is it or isn't it" type of film. The ending is a travesty that is a direct lie to the audience which resolves itself not 90 seconds later, begging the question: why do it in the first place? And as is in vogue with low budget films made for the critics, there is no true ending. Want to know what happens to the characters? Too bad. Can't think of an ending (or more likely can't write an ending you can afford to shoot)? No problem. Just cut to black out of nowhere. Don't waste your time. If you went into this thinking it was going to be something along the lines of The Witch, prepare to be disappointed. 1.5 stars solely for the cinematography and practical effects.