The Damned: A Chilling Thriller Premiering in 2025

• The Damned will be available in UK and Irish cinemas from 10th January 2025
• Starring: Odessa Young, Joe Cole, Rory McCann and Siobhan Finneran

The Damned: A Chilling Thriller Premiering in 2025

The Damned, an ominous and chilling thriller, follows Eve and her crew as they come across a shipwreck. Consequently, they face the moral dilemma to either help or prioritize their own survival.

Vertical has announced a new release date. The Damned, Thordur Palsson’s ominous and chilling thriller, will be available in UK and Irish cinemas from 10th January 2025.

Starring Odessa Young (The Staircase, Mothering Sunday) and Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders, Gangs of London), The Damned is a tense psychological horror film. It follows 19th-century widow, Eva, who is faced with making an impossible choice. This occurs when, unexpectedly, a ship sinks off the coast of her isolated fishing outpost during the middle of an especially cruel winter.

Moreover, provisions are running low. As a result, Eva and her close-knit community must choose wisely. They need to decide between rescuing the shipwrecked crew or prioritizing their own survival. Ultimately, the inhabitants face the consequences of their decision. They are tormented by guilt, and they wrestle with a mounting sense of dread. In fact, they begin to believe they are all being punished for their choices.

Following its premiere in November.

The Cork International Film Festival 2024 awarded an Honourable Mention to The Damned commenting ‘The Damned is a juggernaut of a film, breathing fresh life into a well-trodden genre. Its powerful use of the landscape and compelling performances make it truly deserving of this Special Mention.‘ 

Inspired by the Westfjords of Iceland in the 1800s, The Damned takes place in an unforgiving, almost unliveable setting, yet one that is steeped in immense beauty and turbulent folklore.

For director Thordur Palsson (The Valhalla Murders), himself a native Icelander.

It was this folklore and mythology that ultimately led him to develop the idea that would later become The Damned. Growing up in Iceland, family members often shared gruesome tales of ghosts, demons, and evil spirits.

As he recalls: “Every Icelander has heard all kinds of different variations of the truth – all elements of our history that have passed down. One of these stories concerned a ship that sank off the shores of Iceland, with natives killing all survivors. I learned about this. I started to write a story related to it. Gradually, I kept fleshing it out. I added darker elements.”

The Damned draws deep inspiration from Norse Mythology. It features haunting performances from Rory McCann (Game of Thrones) and Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley). The cast also includes Turlough Convery (Belfast), Lewis Gribben (Somewhere Boy), Francis Magee (The Tourist), and Mícheál Óg Lane (Calvary).

Distributed By: Vertical