Stripping away modern comforts like phones and flashlights, The Damned creates a chilling, immersive horror set in a bygone era. Director Thordur Palsson and actor Odessa Young reveal how this non-modern setting amplifies scares and breathes fresh life into the genre, delivering a hauntingly unique cinematic experience.
Fear in the past
Director Thordur Palsson and actor Odessa Young talked to The Mary Sue about the challenges of creating a film like this. “All the things that could help us in a bind, we don’t have them,” Palsson pointed out. “Imagine yourself back in the 1800s with a candle, walking around, and you’re hoping a gust of wind doesn’t catch it so you’re stuck in darkness. That is really scary to me.”
Palsson highlights how this stripped-down setting intensifies the horror by removing the conveniences we take for granted. Jump scares and plot twists hit harder when there’s no flashlight to illuminate the dark corners or cell phone to call for help. The absence of these tools doesn’t just isolate the characters, it isolates the audience, too, pulling them into the characters’ fear.
Modern questions
Despite its historical setting, The Damned brings a modern sensibility to its storytelling. Palsson elaborates on the moral quandary at the film’s core, saying, “Do we save these poor foreigners drowning in the ocean, or do we take care of our own? That’s a very modern and interesting question to ask.”
This question anchors the horror in a larger ethical framework, making it more than just jump scares and eerie visuals. It’s a testament to how horror can reflect societal concerns, even when set in the distant past. For Palsson, pairing a provocative moral dilemma with genre elements is key to captivating today’s audiences.
Making the film feel authentic
For Odessa Young, who stars in the film, the challenge of grounding her character in such an extreme genre piece lies in making her reactions feel authentic. “I think that the challenge is just to make it feel as though it is happening,” she explained. But when you include monsters, it gets tricky. “Monsters aren’t real, so to act as though a monster is happening is difficult.”
Thankfully, the meticulously crafted monster design helped bridge the gap between fiction and realism. The design of the monster and the performance by the choreographer and dancer playing the creature made the terror palpable on set, allowing her to react viscerally. “I was very appreciative of actually being able to rely on those things happening in front of me,” she shared
The art of scaring modern audiences
One of the greatest compliments to any horror film is when it’s so intense that viewers feel the need to take a breather. This movie has been described as sinister and also that you would need to pause it at one point to calm down from watching it. Which for horror fans like me sounds exhilarating!
Palsson’s reaction? Pure delight. “That’s great. That’s what we want,” he said. “You want people to go see it, and you want them to be petrified when they walk out of the theater.” It is funny to think of the image of someone trying to “pause” the movie in a theater. But the sentiment rings true, The Damned aims to evoke such a visceral response that audiences need to catch their breath.
A fresh take
By combining a historical backdrop with modern ethical questions and meticulously crafted scares, The Damned carves a unique space in today’s horror landscape. As Palsson noted, “Hopefully that will get a modern audience interested in a genre piece like this.”
Whether it’s the haunting visuals, the moral dilemmas, or simply the fear of being stuck in the dark with nothing but a candle, The Damned promises to leave audiences shaken—and maybe even pausing to calm down. So grab your popcorn, steady your nerves, and prepare for a horror movie that’s as thought-provoking as it is terrifying. The Damned isn’t just a trip to the past, it’s a deep dive into our collective fears, both ancient and modern.
Published: Dec 31, 2024 09:27 am