Thordur Palsson going first for the supernatural horror that turns out to be a psychological thriller, Icelandic components in the isolated outpost give it a sense of paranoia and superstition, his work is called “The Damned” in English. It all begins in a small fishing , where the decision remains strong, whether to continue chasing an unstable wastage or to abandon hope and solace. The fishermen’s motives in battling this menace from above a pervasive story of dreams and shadows, though repetitive in portrayal and vision, is nevertheless a good story soaked parallel.
The role of a young widow Eva who is Odesa Yang is wed to a fisherman who is now dead, her only tool is the local provision which is rented out to fishermen. Electricity is practically unknown in the village and the surrounding seas are frozen so every decision, every portion matters. In principle, the people of the very village are peaceful, engaged in singing drinking songs and fishing songs and only in their narrow bar tavern by candles, but maleness and rivalry in the self defined world of men as survival strategists ferment below this well laid surface.
Turning to another narrative in relation to the legal issues that thrive in the deserted and remote island, there is a hardly surprising shipwreck concerning a boat or boatload of foreign tourists. This brings forth the crucial quandary that the inhabitants of the township encounter regarding the extent to which time and search and rescue will be devoted. This debate is further cast in a different light when the shipwreck begins to bring land valuable commodities required for the survival of the township. The ethical proportion of this story that is slowly but steadily progressing towards the supernatural elements having its roots in legends bearing close relation to the mane of the Christian faith of the dwellers, is that of whether succor is to be sought from the surrounding rocky outcrops where survivors could be trapped. As the bad decisions made start to return to hunt the perpetrators, the psychological disorder of guilt in this case has physical attributes that are alarming in nature as they emanate from the question of whether the figures in the black darkness are real or imaginary.
Even though the opening with a candle-wielding exposition is not very inviting, it takes a sharp twist towards the ghastly when the village wakes up to the news of the death event off its coast quite suddenly. It is only a matter of time before the major ethical dilemmas start to establish themselves. Static shots are making it through the cuts attempting to remain firm but far to no avail. And now, as the image shows Eva caught in concern over how to lead her people, the camera starts to sway slightly. The film’s perspective is again disturbing, this time surrounding Eva who almost seems to find rest when she is in the company of Daniel (Joe Cole), her considerably younger and good looking subordinate who seems to bring up another ethical complication when the twain’s sexual tension becomes rather undeniable.
As the story progresses, however, it becomes evident that Young’s on the edge performance, Eli Arneson’s sophisticated dolly shots and Stephen McKeon’s spinechilling music help cоnstruct a shifty backdrop. Here, however, Palsson deprives this attainment of the edges that cut across the immersion of the story. Each and every jump scare is reproduced the same over and over again. Scary figures are seen in the peripherals and then suddenly there is a loud sound that was constant through the whole scene up until that moment. This chaos is usually accompanied by a false ending or sudden cut. The first time it’s exciting and devious, but by a countless number of times? Not so much.
This is rather an unfortunate effect that the film seems to have. Its cast continues to be focused on accumulating the psychological tensions of the plot and the societal rifts, yet they fail to maintain tension for most part due to their pedestrian supernatural visions. The performers hit every note of anguished loathing with aplomb, and yet the film’s spectral, barely there, representational metaphors muddle their emotional impact. When Palsson tries to decipher the correspondence between the actual plot and the dreams, this is all too true. Many of the film suffers from this overexplaining, although no other suffers more clearly than its climax.
That The Damned, then, balances on a knifepoint, becomes an outcome that cannot come as a surprise. However, the fact that it never ceases to be captivating for as much as it does, primarily owing to Young in whose interpretation occurs the image of a young girl encumbered with duties speaks for the strengths of the film as a psychological ambient work about tremendous repentance. That’s a ghost which need not have a body to be feared, but one which is given one too many all the same.
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